I'm Not Rin
by ShadowFoxMoon
Summary: The freshly born babe still in her arms, she looked up at him in exhaustion. "He is your son." He knew what those few words entailed. Because of his choice he owed her a debt. He could not deny her this. His honor and pride would not allow him to do so otherwise. From that moment on, he will treat the child as if it was his own. "I am his father." And he is my son.
1. Alive

ShadowFoxMoon:

Hello everyone. I usually don't like starting things of with a note, but I think this is a little necessary, considering the importance of this story.

You may or may not recognize me, if you don't that's understandable, I am mostly known in the INUYASHA crossover section, my greatest and most known story being Ouran High School Host Club X Inuyasha. Fun N Games At Ouran. (COMPLETED) My second being Spirit's Revenge. A Bleach X Inuyasha crossover. (WIP)

I have read many fanfction over the years, many good, and many many more bad ones. You name it, I have at least read a few chapters in many crazy ideas that have been thrown on the interwebs.

What I don't see often enough is a good honest story, where Sesshomaru is well, _**Sesshomaru** _in all his glory.

In my eyes, he is aloof and enigmatic.

He doesn't have a castle.

He doesn't have a 'delicate' eyebrow that everyone writes for some reason.

He doesn't go on a mating spree when Kagome comes in 'heat'

And most of all, he is in love with only himself.

This story will take place over years—**_Years _**of Kagome's life. From age 15-16, to around 45. Most of her human life. If you are reading this story for a quick fix, it is not going to happen. There is no love at first sight here.

Trust and respect doesn't happen in the first meeting. It doesn't happen after a week, or even a few months. It is a gradual process over years of being together, and even then, love might not bloom from it, for it is an even greater emotion.

This story is going to be one of my most thought of, emotional, and 'human' stories I will ever do. I hope it will be one of my greatest work that everyone will remember.

I will use all my writing skills to make this the most convincing cannon Sesshomaru X Kagome story I could come up with, in my power.

There is no castle. There is no 'delicate' eyebrow. And no one is going to be calling **_Sesshomaru, _**'fluffy'.

Only blood, tears, lies, death, regret, debt, family, duty, respect, honor, courage, and if I can pull it off, love.

This is my Sesshomaru X Kagome.

_**Story**_

Kagome was sitting among a field of flowers, picking several different herbs and digging up a few hidden roots. She would brush away the dirt, before putting the object into her basket with a sigh, a heavy look on her face. Being surrounded by beautiful flowers, Kagome tried to distract herself and reached out, picking up a few of the colorful plants.

"Inuyasha." She whispered the half-demon's name as she began to weave the steams together as her mind started to wander away from the reason why she was even there.

The group was attacked by a demon, and the tough dog ended up being severely injured. He thought it was no big deal and kept it hidden from the group, wanting to continue looking for the shards. After a few days, Inuyasha collapsed from his injures and they were forced to return to the village and tend to his wounds. Kagome did her best, bring what she could from her world to heal his cuts and bandage him, but he still hasn't moved from his bed, and she was starting to worry for him.

So while their sword welding companion was out sick, the others decided to take the time and relax. Kagome was staying close to the village, instead of going home like she would have done whenever they got free time away from hunting for Naraku. The circumstances for their break was different, and it left Kagome worrying for the dog-demon to the point where to past time and to be useful, she has been gathering herbs and other things to try and help his healing.

A shuffling in the bushes tore Kagome from her thoughts and she reached beside her, her fingers wrapping around her bow as she glanced up. Yet her grip on her weapon slacked and her eyes softened when she spotted a small girl walking towards her from the tree line. The girl looked around with a bright smile on her face, before she finally spotted her. Their eyes meet, and the girl paused.

The girl seemed to be thinking over something, before her smile returned and she started walking towards her without fear. Kagome noticed that the girl was young, maybe nine, with dark black hair. The closer she got the more details she could see, like the dirt smudged on her cheeks which highlighted her freckles, and her dark brown orbs watching her with curiosity.

"Hi." The girl was now standing in front of her and waved.

"Hello." Kagome greeted the girl with a smile, and removed her hand from her bow.

The girl giggled and plopped down in front of her. The motion causing several petals to rip from their flowers and dance in the air around them for a moment, before finally settling among them. "What are you doing?" She asked innocently, her head cocked to the side as she looked down at the flowers in her hand, then at the basket with the herbs in them.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" She questioned the girl. Her face didn't look familiar. "I have never seen you before in the village."

"I don't come from the village." She told her and reached out, picking one of the flowers laying among them.

"Then what are you doing here?" She must be a traveler. Kagome glanced around and frowned. Where were the girl's parents?

"I was told to hide." The girl was now twirling the daisy in her hand with a smile on her face.

Kagome hummed at the girl's answer. "Why?"

"There is a demon in the forest, so I was told to hide while it was being taken care of." The girl finally looked away from the flower. "I know I was supposed to stay put, but I smelt the flowers nearby."

Kagome's heart gave a small squeeze of pain, knowing what had happened. Her parents were more than likely dead. They sacrificed themselves to distract the demon so their child could live. "I-I'm sorry." The words feel from her lips in sadness, and the girl looked up at her in confusion.

"Sorry?" The girl pouted. "You didn't do anything wrong, did you?"

Kagome shook her head and tried to force a smile. "No." It probably would be best not to tell the child.

A demon in the forest is a bad. Inuyasha has kept them at bay for the most part but some do wander into the forest while they are out hunting for the jewel. She needs get to the village as soon as possible and warn the others of the demon, so they could kill it. She looked down at the girl. First thing is first, she should get the child to the village so she can be safe, and give her a good home. She was sure Kaede knew someone who could take the child and raise it as their own, now that the poor kid's parents were gone.

She did her best to give her a reassuring smile. "Hey, I have a great idea. Would you like to go to the village with me? It's nice there, and there is a lot of kids to play with that are about your age."

The girl seemed to be thinking about it but then she shook her head. "Naw." She hummed. "I was told to wait."

Seems this might take some time, but she had to find a way to convince her to go with her. Kagome noticed the girl looking at her hands and she raised up her unfished crown of flowers. "Would you like me to show you want I am doing?" The girl nodded and Kagome began to continue weaving the flowers together. She then finished her work and held it up to the girl to inspect. The child's eyes grew wide in surprise and gave a small squeal in joy. Kagome laughed at the girl's happiness.

"Can you show me how to do that?"

"Sure." Kagome put the crown in the basket and began fresh. The girl watched, and soon picked up her own flowers and tried to copy her.

As the girls were working, Kagome noticed the girl trusted her a little more so she tried again. "Are you hungry? I have some food at my house you can have?"

The girl nibbled on her lower lip in concentration, having a much more difficult time. "No, it's alright." She sighed in frustration and looked at her own mess of bent flowers, then at Kagome's.

"Don't get so upset, it just takes time." She tried to show the girl once more, being extra slow so she could follow her movements. The girl then tried again, but this time she was able to do a little better and she held up her three braided flowers to the miko, a bright smile on her face and Kagome clapped. "Good job!" The girl blushed and looked down at her lap. The girl was very cute—It was rather sad what had happened to her… As she stared at the girl she tried a different approach. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now."

The girl pouted. "Why?"

"I have a friend who is sick, and I'm looking after him. I have to return to the village." The girl looked at her with a conflicted expression then looked back down at her hands, twiddling her thumbs. Seeing the girl struggle she decided to ask again. "Would you like to come with me?"

The girl then mumbled to herself. "I was told to stay here, and I would get in trouble if they came back and I was gone."

Kagome tried to reason with the girl. "I am sure the village is where they were headed before the demon showed up. They will probably know to look for you there." She smiled at her. "In fact I'm sure they might have wanted you to go there."

"Really?" The girl had a puzzled look on her face, questioning her.

Kagome sighed, wishing the girl would just accept her offer to the village. The demon that killed her parents is still out there and they are sitting ducks in this field. "Yes." She nodded. "They would have wanted you to go to the village."

The girl's lips puckered to one side of her face, as she thought about it, looking down. She then looked up at her and smiled. "Okay." Kagome gave a small sigh of relief.

"Good." She got to her feet, smiling at the girl—A chill went down her body as her senses were screaming at her. It wasn't the tell-tell sign of a shard, no, this was a demon. From what she could tell, a powerful one. "Get behind me, quick." Kagome picked up her bow and notched an arrow. The girl without question got behind her and for that she was glad. She tried to focus her senses, but she wasn't that good at controlling them, and instead felt the demon's force all around her, echoing off the trees and the air. She tried not to shiver, for it felt as if she could feel his breath on her body, looming over her. She heard movement from the tree line and she brought her bow up to her face and pulled back her arrow, ready for it to fly the moment it lunged into the field.

But instead of the wild beast jumping from the bushes, he made an elegant approach in all of his glory and grace, his usually stoic expression on his face. She opened her mouth slightly, but her lips wouldn't dare speak his name, too frightened that her life would be pulled away from her before she could speak it.

Sesshomaru.

He approached them with a painfully slow stride, his golden orbs locked into hers, putting her under a spell which had her body frozen, unable to move. Was he the one who killed the girl's parents? Why? It didn't make much sense to her at all. What was he doing here? Was he here to kill them? Was he here to kill Inuyasha? Did he hear about his brother's injuries and wanted to finish him off? The demon lord seemed more like the type to kill a man at his full strength, then stabbing an already wounded animal. Then again, she really did not know much about the demon, other than the few encounters she had with him. All of them involved him trying either to hurt or kill her and Inuyasha for whatever logical reason he had at the time. One thing was for certain, when Sesshomaru appeared, blood would be split, and someone was more than likely going to die.

Even as all of this was in her mind, another nagging thought was constantly there as well: She had to protect the child. That one idea pushed away her fears and allowed courage to replace it.

She dug her heels into the ground, trying to stable her mind as well as her body. The girl's smiling face entered her thoughts, and she dared not look away from the demon to even glance the child, knowing that a single distraction will end her life. She was afraid to even blink, knowing that he could vanish and her head would be detached from her body just as fast.

She stood strong, her arrow still notched as she stared at the demon lord beyond the end of her arrow's shaft, ignoring the feel of the feather tickling her cheek. The arrow head was placed directly at his heart. She knew they were more than likely dead. She had just one shot, and even then it would miss him and he would kill her before she could reach for a second one.

Even though the odds were against her, she had to protect the child. She will be nothing but a sacrifice in the end, but if she can distract him long enough for the girl to escape…

He was already just a few feet upon them, and she tried to still her beating heart that was pounding in her ears. "Stop." She hoped the trembling in her body did not give away in her voice, as she continued to stare at the lord with a glare.

Surprisingly enough he halted in his movements, and just continued to look at her with indifference. They just stood there. The tenseness combined with the demonic power he exuded was like poison in the air, crushing her chest and making it hard to breath. Her grip on her arrow tightened, but she could feel the sweat in her palm, and she tried not to let her fingers slip from the bowstring.

Now what? She couldn't help but question as she continued to stare into his amber pools. She didn't really expect him to stop…

"Rin." She tried not to jump at the sudden sound of his low voice cutting though the quiet air. "Come."

There was a blur in the corner of her eyes, followed by a pleased giggle from the girl. Then she saw the girl come into her vision, even as she continued to stare down the demon lord. Her eyes narrowed in warning, but she didn't voice her concerns to the girl, but only watched as she continued to run obediently to the demon with a bright smile on her face.

It wasn't until the girl ran past him, and he now stood between Kagome and the girl, that Sesshomaru finally broke the deadly eye contact they shared. Without so much as another word or acknowledgement to her presence, he turned and followed the girl out of the field, and back into the shadows of the forest.

It wasn't until moments later and she knew that he was gone, that her whole body started to visible tremble. Her shaking hand allowed the wobbling arrow to slip off of the bow string and landed into the ground with the thud at her feet. Her lips were parted and her breath came in deep and raspy gasps, her lungs unable to get any oxygen in her panic. The bow fell from her weak and sweaty grasp, hitting the ground with a clatter. She soon joined her weapon as her legs gave out beneath her and she had both her hands clinching her chest. Her heart felt like it as going to burst as she leaned over and touched her burning forehead to the cold ground.

She couldn't hear anything other than her own heart beating, and she found herself unable to believe the sound. She released a pitiful cry that was a mixture of both fear and joy as tears swelled in her eyes.

She was alive.

* * *

This story is my first story that is not a crossover, but purely Inuyasha, and if you don't know by now, it is a Sessho/Kagome story.

Sesshomaru X Kagome is a deep bond I had back when I first started reading fanfiction before I finally started writing fanfiction of my own. I never wrote a SessXKag story, because I believed it to be untouchable in my eyes. Like I could never make one, make it perfect enough, make it how I always imagined it would be.

Now I know I can.

I have grown as a writer, and I no longer see any boundaries in my writing.

You guys probably knew it would come sooner or later. Every story I have ever done, Kagome has a deep connection with Sesshomaru in some way, and I decided as my last and final story I ever do/complete on I would go out with a bang and do a non-crossover Sesshomaru/Kagome fic.

(By 'last story' I am referring to Muti-chapter stories. I will still update my one-shot collection. )

And just because I started posting this story, doesn't mean I am not going to finish my other work that isn't completed yet. I will get to them when I have time. For now, enjoy this chapter, I might update this story again, but I have a lot of things I need to update and I am going to try and re-read some fanfiction to boost my muse and get working on my long awaited updates on my crossover fics.

See you guys on my next update!


	2. Ninth Day

It was a normal day, like any other day. He found himself walking a trail he had set for himself as he patrolled his lands, keeping his senses open for anything abnormal. All he could pick up was the normal sounds of nature, but in the back of his mind, which he was trying his best to ignore, was Rin's chattering—Which was agitating enough, also a normal everyday occurrence, even more so in the past few days, it seems.

"You should have seen it Jaken, the flowers were very pretty." Rin continued on moving her mouth nonstop, not caring that any of the demons among her wasn't paying attention. "She lives in the village, I think. She had roots in her basket. She also said a she was taking care of a friend who was sick." Her small voice chirped insistently all evening.

The demon lord was able to pay the child no mind, allowing Jaken to be the center of her pestering for the most part. "Lord Sesshomaru." The child called as she quickly jogged to catch up to him so she could walk beside him. He didn't halt his stride, but glanced at the child out of the corner of his eyes. She noticed she had his attention so she smiled brightly at him. "Can we go back to the field near the village?" She asked curiously.

Sesshomaru noticed that the child was fumbling with several flowers in her hands, trying to tie their stems together, but all she was able to do was break their green stalks into shorter and shorter length until she was forced to throw them away, too short to manipulate them anymore. The demon looked away from the child and didn't answer her. He kept his focus straight as they continued forward.

Rin took his silence as his answer and slowed her pace so that she could once again lag behind with the green toad and two headed dragon.

* * *

Sesshomaru stopped in the middle of the forest, when he did the others copied his movements. He glanced behind him, his amber orbs locking onto dark brown. "Rin, come with me." He commanded as he begin to walk forward again. The girl complied without question, falling behind him. He once again halted when he heard another set of footsteps "Jaken, stay here." The toad immediately stopped and the demon could hear his servant's babbling in disbelieve, but he dared not question him.

* * *

He could smell the flowers before they arrived, but it took the human child a lot longer to catch their sent before—

"Yay!" The girl's expression was bubbling with joy as she took off in at sprint, running past him in a blur of orange and black.

He let the child go, not bothering to correct her behavior and allowing her a moment of happiness. He continued on at his leisurely pace, falling behind the excited child's skips. He watched as she burst through the tree line and he could hear her laughter. A sweet scent reached his nose, hidden well among the overbearing flowers, the aroma catching his undivided attention. He knew the woman was once again among the plants before he even got to the field.

Sure enough, when he walked beyond the shadows of the trees, he spotted her sitting among the vegetation as Rin was babbling incoherently to the scantily clad female. He noticed the moment he came into view, the woman tore her eyes away from Rin, and her blue crystals was staring into his golden ones. He could smell the human's fear. No amount of pungent flowers could ever mask the scent from him. He watched as the girl's grip on her bow, which was lying beside her, tightened. Even from where he stood, he could hear her drumming heart pounding in his own ears.

She feared him. That's good. It means she isn't a complete idiot like most females he comes across. Just from that fact, he knew that the woman wouldn't harm Rin, because only an idiot would do so while he stood watch. Unless they had a death wish. If so, then let her try, and he will gladly grant her wish.

Rin called to the woman, catching her attention and the girl finally pulled her eyes away from his figure so that she could tend to the child's needs. Rin introduced herself, and at that point Sesshomaru turned and found a nice shady spot to sit and relax beneath a tree at the end of the field. He placed his back against the rough bark, and watched the exchange between Rin and the woman closely, resting his only arm on top of his raised knee.

He stood guard, observing Rin and the woman playing with the flowers and talking to each other. Every so often the girl would glance in his direction, but once their eyes met, she would quickly looked away. The more she conversed with Rin, the less tense the woman was.

Sesshomaru looked away from the women and towards the sky, noticing the change of color. He believed that he had wasted enough of his time, and got to his feet. "Rin, we are leaving." His cold voice cut through the girl's chatter, and they stilled.

"Yes Lord Sesshomaru." With a smile Rin bid the girl goodbye before catching up to him, and keeping step with his shadow as they both left the flowery field.

As they were walking back to where he left his servant, Rin decided to speak up. "Can we come back again tomorrow Lord Sesshomaru?" The girl had a pledging look in her eyes as she stared up at him, hopeful.

"No." He says firmly.

His answer caused the child to look down sadly, but she didn't raise any objection.

* * *

What is going on? The question popped up in her mind more than a few times the past couple of days.

Why is Sesshomaru showing up? Who is that girl that is with him? Why is she with him? More importantly, how is she still breathing?

Kagome sat in Kaede's hut, thinking over all the strange things that have happened to her. Sesshomaru has appeared to her, twice in fact, and she has been able to keep her head attached to her shoulders.

Rin, that sweet child, was now following the demon lord as if it was normal, and there was no threat to her life by doing so. Is he taking care of her? Why? That was unlike the cold, ruthless killer she had known him as.

That was defiantly … strange.

Kagome glanced over at the red form lying on the ground a few feet away from her and she frowned. Inuyasha still hasn't woken up.

She got up from her spot and walked over to his fallen body, sitting beside of it. She looked upon his wrapped chest and she reached out, lifted the bandage enough so she could peek beneath the cloth. Her frown deepened and she carefully lowered the bandage back down into place. His wounds wasn't healing like they should.

She glanced over at the basket, and her mind was debating on whether she should dare to venture out back into the forest, where Sesshomaru was waiting to kill her.

Maybe she was being too paranoid, and her fear was taking over her logic. She made it sound like he was lurking in the shadows, bent on ripping out her throat the moment she left, but she knew that might have been going overboard, just a little. But could you blame her?

She could still sense him out there in the forest. She can't sense well from a distance, but his power is just too strong to not feel it. Even now, at the very edge of her sense, his aura was brushing against her skin and the coldness of it was causing goose-bumps to crawl up her arms. Why hasn't he left? If he wasn't going to kill her, what was he still doing here?

Usually, if he ever came into this part of his territory, he did not stay longer than a day, at most. He knew Inuyasha kept things relatively safe here, and she doubted he wanted to be here longer then needed and run into his brother.

Was he truly after Inuyasha's life then? She glanced at the fanged blade that had saved her life more than a few times. Did he want the sword? The thought crossed her mind, even though it had been a while since the dog lord had attacked them, wanting their father's fang. She looked back down at the sleeping demon and sighed. No. She shook her head. If that were true he wouldn't prolong it. The sleeping dog would have been dead by now, and the sword would be taken. There was nothing here strong enough to stop him.

She stared at her injured friend a few moments longer, then at the already empty basket. Kagome released a deep breath of air and slapped her keens, a determined look on her face.

She wasn't sure why Sesshomaru was here, but she couldn't waste her time thinking about the logic of an unpredictable animal like him—Inuyasha needed her. And just like that, she stood up and picked up her basket with a sigh, placing it in the crook of her arm. She had to get him more medicine, even if it meant she would most likely run into the ruthless killer.

She was lucky to survive the encounter twice, but a third time, she was afraid she might be pushing her luck. As fear started to eat away at her, all she had to do was look at the weak man lying on the floor and it dissolved, seeing his pitiful state.

"Are you going to get more herbs?" The question surprised her and she looked down, seeing curious orbs staring up at her. She nodded and he flashed her a smile. "Can I come?" She could tell that the boy was worried for his friend, even if he didn't say it.

She shook her head, and Shippo looked genuinely surprised by her refusal. She kneeled down and patted the young fox on the head. "I won't be gone long, and he needs someone here to protect him." She didn't want Shippo to be around if the demon lord did appear.

Shippo snorted and crossed his arms over his chest, yet a splash of pink was on his cheeks as he turned his head away. She almost laughed at the Inuyasha-like gesture. "**Inuyasha**, needing me to protect him?"

"Yes." She smiled at him. "Everyone needs protecting sometimes, even Inuyasha."

The child puffed out his chest in pride. "I can do it."

Kagome giggled. "I have faith in your powers, great and mighty Shippo."

* * *

A sigh of relief left her lips as she placed the basket down onto the floor of the hut. He never showed up. Her life was still hers, for now at least.

"That was fast." Shippo perked up from his spot beside Inuyasha, his crayon in his hand and papers scattered around the floor.

Kagome found a small smile appearing in her features. "Yeah." She didn't tell him the reasons for her swiftness, not wanting to alarm him. "Where are the others?"

"Gathering things for dinner." Shippo hummed and went back to his drawings.

Kagome bent down and began shifting through the herbs that she had gathered, only for her to pause when she didn't see a certain root among them. In her hast she must have forgotten it. She glanced behind her shoulder, out of the window, and seeing the once light of day slipping behind the rim of the mountain. She might be brave, but she is not so stupid as to wander alone in the forest after dark.

She will have to go back and get it tomorrow…

* * *

He was still here, wandering his half-brother's forest. He hasn't been here for over fifty years, and only after his idiotic brother's escape from his slumber, has he even decided to grace the forest with his presences every so often. Nothing had been amiss—He had no reason to be here, but he was, deciding that he should take a detailed stroll around the area, keeping every tree and brush detailed into his thoughts and making a mental map in his mind. The forest that mocked his very presence by having the humans in the area giving it the same name as his brother.

He glanced behind his shoulder, just enough to spot the child walking behind him. In her hands was a flower, and she was looking at it with a hidden look on her face, thinking to herself. He has not heard her speak all day. It was a gift from heaven, and he would gladly take it for as long as it lasted.

As he relished in the quietness, he knew that the lovely silence was due to the fact that something was bothering the girl, and that did not sit well with him. Against his better judgment, he broke the silence. "Rin." It was unusual that he was the first to speak since the morning light first appeared over the hilltops. "Come."

She lifted her gaze up from the flower in her hand, and followed him without a word. He didn't have to tell the toad to stay behind, for the green demon already knew without him having to command it.

* * *

Kagome was gathering the herbs as quick as she could, all the while thoughts of Inuyasha danced in the back of her mind, making her fingers fumble.

He is not getting better. Shouldn't he be getting better? He should have already healed, and she should be walking beside of him, looking for the shards. She would talk to him, and he wouldn't reply. The only indication that he was even listening to her is the twitch of his ears as they swiveled towards her. She would then argue with him that he isn't listening, and wouldn't talk again until that night when they set up camp and she fixed ramen for everyone.

But that is not happening. He is not walking beside of her. He is not eating ramen. He is not arguing with her. He has not woken up.

They are running out of herbs, and she has almost picked this field clean of the plants. She will have to go back to her time, and buy some modern medicine. They are also running out of bandages, and she will have to get extra. With that thought in mind, she knew she will have to go back home tomorrow, first thing in the morning.

"Yay!" A squeal of joy caused the miko to jump, the root resting in her hands slipped out of her grasp and fell onto her lap.

Kagome was now staring at the girl as she twirled around the flowers in joy. Oh no. The woman couldn't help but allow her breath to catch in her throat and her eyes widen in fear at the mere sight of a happy girl. For she wasn't afraid of the girl, but what accompanied her.

And then he strolled into the field in all of his grace and she placed her hand to her chest, trying to stop their trembling.

She should have moved faster. She thought. She should have gathered the herbs and left. She knew he would show up, but she let her guard down because he didn't appear yesterday, and then the thoughts of Inuyasha's condition distracted her. She was a fool. And soon to be a dead fool…

"Kagome!" Rin was now standing before her, giving her a wide smile. The child's chest heaving up and down, her frolic in the flowers taxing her and leaving her short of breath.

"Hello Rin." She gave the girl her best smile she could amidst her fearful state.

"Picking more herbs?" The girl plopped down beside her and looked at the basket, seeing the roots.

Kagome nodded, her head turned down and towards the girl. "Yes." She glanced out of the corner of her eyes, some of her hair falling off her shoulder and blocking her view, but she could still see him beyond the black tresses. Sesshomaru. He was already sitting down in 'his spot' the place he stayed at for nearly an hour last time they were in the field with her, before he finally got up and announced they were leaving.

"Is your friend still sick?" The question pulled the miko out of her thoughts and her fear was replaced by great sadness.

"Yes."

"Can I help?"

Rin's innocence caused a true smile to finally appear on her face. "If you want to."

And with instructions on what to look for and how to pull it out without damaging the plant, the child began helping her gather up the roots. "I'm getting better with the flowers." The girl was making idle chat, like she always did.

"That's good." Another smile showed on her face as she dusted off the dirt from the roots.

"I still can't make a crown like you can though." She could hear the pout in her voice without having to look up and see it.

"Keep trying, you will."

"Ugghh!" She heard the child give a grunt and Kagome looked up. She spotted Rin on her feet, pulling with all her strength at the plant, as if she was trying to pull up the world's largest turnip. "Ah!" The root unexpectedly gave under the harsh treatment and dirt was flying in the air followed by a whoosh, and then a thud, the child landed on her back with a groan. The falling dirt scattered around her collapsed form, but the child didn't seem to mind. She held up her hand, the plant tightly fisted within, and a victorious grin was on her face. "I got it!"

Kagome couldn't help the laugh that left her, and she placed her fingers to her lips to try and still the sound, but the giggling from the child wasn't helping. Rin got to her feet and showed the woman her accomplishment. "That's a big one." She couldn't help but praise the child and smile at her. "Thank you Rin." She accepted the root, and Rin gave her a cute blush.

She wasn't sure why, but he found her eyes leaving the blushing girl, to glance over. A gasp fell onto her lips as her eyes locked onto burning amber and her hands tightly curled around the root. He was watching them. He was always watching them. The way his cool expression never left them, watching from a distance with no real emotions giving away his thoughts. He would be a cloak of indifference as he observed their exchange with no real interest, his eyes mostly centered on the child. This time was different.

She wasn't sure how she knew, for he was the same cold, calculated form of ice he has always been. Something in her mind was screaming at her that he was watching her. He was watching **her**. Her. Not Rin, but her. Staring at her with his heated gaze.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to ignore the fluttering feeling of fear pooling in her stomach and turned her attention back to Rin. "This is a very good root Rin." She hoped her voice didn't crack, and if it did the child didn't seem to notice. Then an idea came into her mind and Kagome smiled. "Would you like me to give you something? As thanks for helping me?"

This seemed to interest the child and she sat down in front of her. "What?"

"I brought some chocolate with me, in case I got hungry." Kagome placed the root into the basket, then lifted the pile up, revealing the unopened bar of candy she had stashed away beneath it. "It's my last one." She removed the bar and held it in front of her. "I had to hide it or Shippo would have already eaten it." She laughed at her own images that flashed in her mind of the fox child and his chocolate covered mouth.

The child looked at the wrapped gift, unsure. "You can eat it?" She questioned.

"Yeah" Kagome reached out and unfolded the foil around the top and pulled it down, revealing the brown squares beneath. The child's eyes grew in fascination and Kagome giggled. She carefully broke off a few of the small squares and reached out her hand to her, held in her palm was the innocent treat. "Try it—"

Pain went up her arm, cutting off her voice and the only thing that fell from her lips was a hiss, shutting her eyes out of reflex from the pain. She opened them back up, and looked down at her arm. Her blood pooled down to her feet, and her body turned cold at seeing a clawed hand wrapped around her wrist, his stripped markings standing out against his pale flesh.

He lifted her hand up, and she tried not to cry out at the forced movement as her arm stretched and her straightened arm put pressure in her shoulder at the odd angle. She was lifted just a few inches from the ground, yet he paid no heed to her painful expression. She could have sworn his grip on her wrist tightened further and she had to bite her lower lip from releasing a whimper. Her hand was now raised to his chest, the piece of chocolate still resting peacefully in her palm, her fingers almost curling around it.

Kagome was staring at his face, looking for any sign of her imamate death, hoping it would be quick and painless, but her fear danced around as she continued to see nothing but cold indifference. She did catch the slightest movement of his nose, before he lowered her arm back down. She released a small sigh as her butt hit the ground, and her arm was no longer being held above her awkwardly.

Her blue irises was staring into his, yet he did not move for several more moments, which felt like torturing hours. He finally looked away from her and towards Rin. "It is safe." He glanced over at her once more, and she felt his already tight grip on her wrist squeeze in warning and she flinched.

Then just as quickly the pain was gone, leaving a mild throb and needles going across her wrist and tingling up her arm. Kagome looked up, seeing his back retreating in his smooth and elegant way, his hair swaying in the movement. She felt a touch against her hand and she jumped, wide and fearful eyes landing on her hand.

Rin had a bright smile on her face as her smaller hand brushed against hers, just as she was reaching for the chocolate still in her palm. She looked at the treat curiously, before plopping it into her mouth with a hum. The girl's eyes widened and a squeal of joy escaped her mouth. "It's good!"

"Y-yeah…" The word slipped from her dazed lips as she stared at the child in bafflement. What just happened? "You can have the rest if you want." She held out the bar to her, flinching as she expected a sudden hand to come out and latch onto her wrist, but it didn't, and she sighed in relief.

"Really!" The girl's hand darted out and snatched the chocolate from her hand. "Thank you!" Suddenly the girl launched her body at her, causing the air to leave the unprepared miko's lungs. Shorter arms wrapped around her neck, and Kagome was left stunned at the show of affection, but a smile appeared on her face and she patted the girl's back with her aching hand. The girl then pulled away from her, then turned and started running away, leaving Kagome confused. "Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin called to the demon, a huge smile plastered on her face. "Look what I got!" She was waving the candy bar in the air in excitement as she approached the demon, who was now standing at the end of the field.

The demon followed the child with his eyes until she came to a stop in front of him. She couldn't hear what was being said, they were too far away, but Kagome could see Rin's lips moving a mile a minute a she was pointing to the chocolate and smiling. The whole time the demon didn't say one thing, and just continued to watch the girl silently, but his full attention was on her none-the-less, and that surprised the miko.

"_It is safe."_ His cold voice fell into her ears, and she blinked. 'It is safe to eat'

He was protecting her, the girl finally realized. The great demon lord of the west was protecting a small child and looking after her. It made her feel a sense of warmth swell within her as she looked at the demon with a new light. Maybe he is not such a ruthless killer after all?

As if sensing her change, the demon looked away from the child and their eyes made connection. Instead of the usual chilled reaction she felt when his heated glare looked at her, she found herself smiling. His eyes narrowed, but her smile just grew. He turned his eyes back to the child, and his lips began moving, telling her something.

Then he turned and began walking away, out of the field. Rin started to follow, but then she turned back, the candy bar in her hand waving in the air.

Kagome's expression softened and she raised her hand, waving back to the child. She ignored the small needles still stinging in her wrist as the image of the coldblooded demon's departure was trailed by a giggling and kind hearted young girl.

A strange but warming sight that only she as ever got to witness.

* * *

A flash of light shone beneath the well, then a soft voice echoed below. "Well that was… _odd_." Kagome mumbled to herself as images and thoughts of her strange experience back home still fresh in her mind. The girl shook her head and began her tiring climb up the side of the well.

Delicate hands appeared over the rim of the well, followed by a heavy grunt before raven tresses appeared over the edge, then came clear blue eyes peeking out and glancing around. Kagome lifted herself up, before plopping down on the rim to rest after the hard exercise. Her overstuffed backpack gave a thud as it landed by her feet. Usually Inuyasha helped her out and took the heavy bag from her so she could get out of the well, but now.

"Inuyasha…" She tried not to think about it as the sadness started to envelop her once again.

He was the reason why she left for her time this morning, to get more supplies to try and help him in his condition. She was able to make it back by evening, hurrying as fast as she could to her usual stores, gathering what she needed, and like normal she stopped at her favorite coffee shop along the way back to her house.

Kagome paused as she stared down at her bruised wrist, as her mind went blank for a few moments. "Very odd." She allowed herself just a few seconds of numbness, before she sighed and shook herself of the images that appeared. She reached out and grabbed her bag, and with another grunt, she slung it over her shoulders and she began walking back towards the village.

It didn't take long for a cool sensation to brush across her senses and she shivered. She was becoming very familiar to his aura by now, and she was surprised that the demon lord was still around the forest. Why? She couldn't help but question and she turned to where the power was originating from. He was at the field again…

She glanced down at her wrist, and began nibbling her lower lip. Her feet had a mind of its own as she started walking in the direction without real reason or logical thought. She must be feeling very brave today, or very stupid.

"Or I feel like committing suicide…" Because purposely seeking out the demon lord of the west, was pretty much the same thing.

* * *

Kagome entered the field like she normally would, not wanting to be too quiet and alert the demon into thinking she was trying to sneak up on them. When she did, he spotted Rin sitting among the flowers, weaving them together like she taught her. She looked over and saw the demon lord sitting in his spot, watching the girl play. She turned and started to approach him, noticing that he didn't flinch even after she stood beside him. (Not right beside him of course, just beyond arm length) She knew that anything too close would invade his personal space and she really didn't want to die that day. He might have not killed her yet, but she didn't want to give him any reason to. Besides, if he wanted to kill her, it didn't matter if she sat at the other end of the field or right beside of him, he would have his hand around her neck before she could even scream.

Feeling tired she dropped the heavy bag on the ground, wincing when she heard the rattling from inside and hoped that she didn't break anything. She then plopped down on the ground with a sigh and used her backpack to support her, her legs stretched out in front of her. He ignored her, pretending like she wasn't even there and continued to watch Rin.

"So…" Unable to take the silence she spoke. "Nice weather, huh?" She felt like smacking herself in the head, but instead she drummed her knees with her fingers in nervousness and tapped her shoes together, enjoying the sound. She glanced over at the demon from the corner of her eyes, he has yet to even move a muscle from his rigged stance. "Why are you here in the forest?" The question came out, but like she suspected, he did not answer her.

At this point she was now fully staring at him, imaging furry triangle ears perched on top of his head, swiveling in her direction as she talked. He looked so much like Inuyasha, except for cute dog ears, he had war paint on his body and a bad attitude. But he also looks like that guy-

"Are your eyes damaged?" His deep voice made her jump at the sound, taken off guard.

"N-No?"

He didn't even bother to turn towards her as he spoke. "Then remove your gaze from my person." Kagome felt heat rise into her cheeks, embarrassed he caught her staring. "A woman of your profession should be used to seeing males on a regular basis."

The girl's mouth hung open in surprise, flabbergasted at his words. D-did he-? Did he just call her a hooker?

"_A woman of your profession should be used to seeing males on a regular basis."_

N-No way!

It started out as a small bubble in her chest, and she raised her hand up to her trembling lips, but the laughter that spilled forth couldn't stop and she found tears swelling in the corner of her eyes. When she was finally able to catch her breath, she wiped the tears from her eyes, her cheeks hurting from the smile that was plastered on her face. She looked up and noticed that he was now staring at her, a single eyebrow arched as the only indication that he was unsure at her reaction to him calling her a prostitute.

"Hey!" A child's cry called out and Kagome turned, seeing Rin running towards them with a smile on her face, waving. She must have just noticed her. When she finally reached them she giggled. "Hi."

"Hello Rin." Kagome expression softened towards the child.

"Did you bring anymore chocolate?"

At the girls comment Kagome giggled "Yeah." He twisted around and stared rummaging in her pouch. "It's in my backpack—"

"Rin." The ice lord call caused Kagome to freeze in her movements. "We are leaving." The miko turned towards the demon just as he was standing, the act so fluid it looked like it was one elegant movement as he came to his feet from his sitting position.

The girl pouted, but Sesshomaru was already leaving her behind. Rin quickly looked back towards Kagome, a sad look on her face and Kagome smiled. "It's alright Rin, we will talk again next time."

That seemed to cheer the girl up and she smiled. "Okay!" And then she ran after her lord, not wanting to get left behind.

* * *

"He is still not awake?" The concern in her voice echoed in the tense hut a she placed her backpack onto the floor.

"Not yet." Miroku sighed from his seating position.

"Don't worry Kagome, I'm sure he is just tired from traveling and fighting he has been doing recently and his body is taking what little moment of rest he can get." Sango did her best to try and comfort her friend and Kagome nodded. She was right, they have been fighting more demons lately, and his body is just probably recuperating—

Kagome felt a tug on her sock and she looked down. "Did you bring anymore chocolate?" The question, along with the innocent look the fox kit gave her caused a small smile to appear on her face, remembering a certain child that asked her the same question not too long ago.

"I might." She teased. "Have you been good?"

"Yeah!" Shippo nodded over and over again until his head was a blur and she giggled when he finally stopped nodding and his eyes were swirled with dizziness and he kept hold of her sock to balance himself so he wouldn't fall.

Kagome reached into her side pouch and after a little bit if digging, found one of the bars and pulled the treat out. The moment he saw it his eyes grew in size and his tail began swaying behind him in anticipation. "Now don't eat it all and ruin your appetite." She's been sounding like her mother more and more everyday it seems.

"I won't!" The child promised as he extended his arms and Kagome finally gave him the candy with a giggle.

She watched as the fox demon ran to the corner of the room where his drawings were scattered and plopped down onto the ground, his mouth already covered in a chocolate smug. Kagome sighed and shook her head. She glanced around the room, seeing everyone busy, Miroku was making sutras, Sango was cooking dinner, and Kaede was mixing the herbs that Kagome got yesterday. Her eyes then landed on the sleeping dog lying peacefully on the ground and her expression dropped.

Kagome turned to her backpack again and began rummaging through it in search of the bandages and medicine she brought.

* * *

"Are you alright Kagome?" The question caused the miko to blink from her daze and she looked up, finding her eyes connecting into concerned brown. "You have just been sitting there, looking sad…" Rin gave a small pout.

Kagome tried not to worry the child and she smiled. "I'm fine, just thinking."

"About your sick friend?" An ache curled around her chest as her eyes went down to her hands once more, an uncompleted crown within them. "Is he really that sick?" She knew the girl was just worried, but thinking about Inuyasha's condition did not make her feel better. She has been trying to get away from the hut as much as she can, unable to look at his unresponsive body anymore. She has found herself in the field now almost every day, not to pick herbs, for she has left the field bare of the medicinal plants, but instead just as a distraction of the fact that the one that she cares for has been sleeping for far too long and she is starting to worry. "Maybe Lord Sesshomaru could help?" The question caused Kagome to look up and turn her eyes towards the demon standing just a few feet away. "Lord Sesshomaru healed me when I was sick."

He did?

Kagome continued to stare at the demon lord, wondering what he was thinking. Has he been listening to the conversations she has with Rin? Does he know his brother is sick? Would he even heal his brother? Does he even care? No, probably not. Her eyes left the demon lords and was now looking at the green toad and dragon that was beside him. He brought the rest of his group with him this time, instead of just Rin. Why? She could feel her fingers crushing the flowers in her palm as she held on to the plants tightly. Why does he just stand there and watch them with such disdain?

She looks familiar.

The nagging feeling in the back of his mind started to make itself known among his thoughts in the past few days. Why is that? If she were important, he would have remembered her, but she obviously wasn't worth his time remembering, therefor she wasn't important. Yet the constant irritation that she in fact looked familiar to him continued and he found his lips thinning and his eyes narrowing at the female sitting with Rin trying to recall why.

"My Lord." Another irritating noise decided to make itself known in the form of the scratchy voice that belonged to his servant. "Y-you know I will never question you, My lord, but I was just w-wondering why you are allowing Rin to fraternize with your brother's woman."

Ah, that's why she seems so familiar. At least Jaken decided to be of use to him. One of his jobs as his servant is to remember unimportant things because he doesn't have the time to do so himself…

He can now recollect hearing his brother's name being called over and over again from the edge of the battle field, the annoying shrills coming from the very girl sitting beside Rin. What was her name again? He tried to evoke the name his brother would shout back in response. "Miko." At that moment it alluded him, but that was of no consequence to him.

Kagome's head shot up from staring at her hands again and her eyes met cold amber. "Yes?"

"Why hasn't my half-brother shown himself to me?"

Kagome was once again fiddling with her fingers as she looked down at the ground sadly. Should she tell him? Would he go to the village and kill him? She found herself shaking her head at the thought. She didn't know much about the demon lord, but after getting to be with Rin and him the past few days, she believed he wouldn't do such a dishonorable thing like killing him when he couldn't even open his eyes and fight back. "He is sick."

Before the pain even registered, the first thing she noticed was that she could no longer breathe. Instincts kicked in and she tried to gasp for air, or cry out, but the very reason keeping oxygen from entering her lungs also prevented what little air she had in them from escaping. A tight hold was placed around her throat by a single clawed hand.

"I do not like being lied to." His hold squeezed tighter and the pain finally came. Her mouth opened up to release a silent scream. "He is incapable of contracting human illness." Her head was starting to become light, unable to get the necessary blood to her brain that allowed her to continue functioning. "I will repeat once more, and this time, you will tell me the truth." Her blood was roaring in her ears, but his voice came to her clear and crisp, cutting through her hazed and fading mind like a knife. She shuddered. "I know he is in the village. Why hasn't my half-brother appeared?"

Her lips started to move, but she was unsure what she trying to say to him, her mind not working correctly without any blood or fresh oxygen. Her lips were trembling and the only thing leaving them was a cry from what little air was escaping through the crack in her windpipe, which resembled oddly enough like the sound a balloon makes when you squeeze its opening as air was leaving the mouth. A high-pitched hiss which was annoying to all but the one who was making the sound.

Then, slowly, his grip released from her throat. She didn't gasp desperately like she thought she would or hold her freed neck, instead she just continued to sit there, her eyes wide with fear. Frozen in shock and panic as the pounding in her ears started to reseed. The tingling in her mind was also going away as the blood started to circulate once more and she released a shaky sigh.

"W-wounds." Her voice was horse and she flinched at the sound. She now had her hand on her neck, going to rub it, but she winced when a shock of pain hit her from her fingers touching the tender spot. She took a deep breath and tried again. "He was badly wounded." She looked down sadly as the picture of Inuyasha appeared in her mind, lying there on the ground unmoving. "He collapsed and hasn't woken up since."

"How long?"

"Huh?" Came her brilliant reply as she looked up at him with confusion.

The demon stared at her a moment, as if thinking over if he should repeat the question again. "How long has he been unresponsive?"

"Umm." She thought back, her gaze moving to the lower right as she tried to remember. "Six days, I think." When she was met with nothing but silence after that, she started to feel uncomfortable and she rubbed her arm. "Do you think you can help him?" She wasn't sure why she asked him, but she did. She found herself staring once again into his golden gaze, with a pleading look on her face.

She wasn't very hopeful, but she was surprised when he answered her. "Tenseiga does not heal wounds or illness of the living." He told her. "It only removes the sickness that is _death_." She found her gaze lowering back to the ground as her heart began to throb. The movement of white fabric caught her attention and she looked up to see Sesshomaru turning and walking away "Rin." The demon lord didn't even have to order her this time, the child knew what it was he commanded of her.

"Yes Lord Sesshomaru." Rin got to her feet and followed. "I'll see you again, Kagome." The girl waved to her goodbye, but Kagome didn't have the heart to wave back.

The feeling of disappointment seeped into her bones and causing a coldness to settle into her body. What little hope she had dwindled away the longer she stared at his retreating back becoming smaller and smaller in the distance before the shadows swallowed him up and he vanished along with his travel companions.

* * *

"He still isn't awake." He should have been awake by now. "Why isn't he awake?" The panic in her voice was obvious as it reregistered into a high pitch. The others in the room did not reply, instead they were into their own thoughts as a heavy tension was in the air in the hut.

Why isn't he healing? What was wrong? Why wasn't he moving? Does he look paler? She leaned her head down to his chest and she tried not to cry. He isn't breathing! Her own jagged breathes started to escalate as she looked upon his face. She placed her ear to his lips. A small amount of air brushed across them. She sighed as she leaned back and once again was sitting on her calves. False alarm.

She could feel the headache forming behind her eyes, as she stared at his unmoving form. Her fingers started to rhythmically tap against her knees and her feet was shifting unconformable beneath her as they started to become numb with tingles.

She was getting paranoid and frantic, sitting there staring at him for days, at this point. She was getting nervous and it wasn't helping matters. Maybe she needs to get away for a while? She should probably go home and try and relax. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, trying to get the kink out of it.

"I do have some tests and classes I need to make up…" She mumbled to herself.

"Are you going to go back home Kagome?" The question caused the girl to look down.

She smiled at the fox. "Maybe."

* * *

He still isn't awake!

Her breathing had become erratic as her body moved through the forest in a white and green blur, tears starting to form beneath her eyes. She kept repeating the phrase over and over again in her mind:

Today was the ninth day.

He was never going to wake up! Her heart started to burn as the tears were making it hard for her to avoid the trees, almost crashing into a few already. Her backpack and quiver of arrows slung across her shoulder pounded against her back in motion with her legs. Her body was sore from the sudden unexpected exercise, and her lungs hurt.

Inuyasha was dying.

A cold chill went down her right side and her body turned towards the icy temperature that pulled to her from afar. Even with her eyes clouded, she tried to see beyond the green of the forest, for anything that stood out.

.-

A warm breeze came in, tossing his sliver strands of hair behind him. Sesshomaru lifted his chin ever so slightly as he caught wind of an increasingly familiar scent. "Jaken." He stopped walking, and the others did as well.

The demon waddled up to him. "Yes, My lord?"

"Take Rin to the field to play." There was a cry of 'yay' in the background, but he paid it no mind.

"Why-" Hearing his inquiring tone Sesshoumaru looked down and stared directly into the toads eyes. "I-I don't mean to question—" His golden orbs narrowed in irritation. "Y-yes, Lord Sesshomaru."

* * *

Her body that was once fiery hot, was becoming increasingly cold, and her heart almost stopped when she saw a glimpse of white. She burst through the tree line shouting the demon's name. "Sesshomaru!"

Everything stood still. He was staring at her with his cold and calculated gaze, and she shivered beneath it. His companions were not with him, and it looked as if he was waiting for her, but that couldn't be possible, could it?

Her breathing was still labored, preventing her from talking. She was bent over, her hands placed onto her knees as she tried to catch her breath and calm her thrashing heart.

_No matter what, you __**must**__ convince him._

"Inuyasha-!" She released a heavy puff of air as she stood straight and placed her hand onto her chest. "He isn't waking up!" Yet the demon lord just stood there, staring at her, as if saying: 'And?' "You must come with me back to the village and help him!" She plead with him. Yet he still stayed silent, and Kagome started to fidget beneath his gaze. "It isn't a normal wound. It's not healing! The demon did something to him!" She tried to tell him. "He is dying!" She shouted to him in her last ditch effort to try and get some sort of response from him, any response.

Then finally, he spoke. "Why does this concern me?"

His words made her heart fall down into her feet and flip back up again, causing her to immediately feel ill. "He is your brother!"

No longer interested in her, he turned and started walking away from her. "_Half-_brother." He casually tossed the word over his shoulder.

Her body was trembling in fear and panic. There is no way! He isn't going to at least try and save him! Her trembling became more severe, but this was now do to rage that was boiling inside of her. Does not truly not care!?

_Do everything you can to convince him._

"It is the ninth day!" She shouted in frustration at his retreating back, as if that meant anything.

Yet the dog demon continued walking away, and as his back became smaller and smaller, her hope started to dwindle more and more.

_You __**must**__ convince him._

Her hands was moving on their own as the bow was raised, and an arrow was notched. She pulled the string back, and the familiar sensation of the feathers brushing against her cheek comforted her, giving her courage. He stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around. "You** will** save him!" She wasn't sure where she got the balls to demand anything from him, but her mind was filled with thoughts of Inuyasha, and at this point she was going crazy with fear and worry.

_If he doesn't go with you, Inuyasha will die._

Her hand was trembling, causing her weapon to shake. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, the grip on the bow tightening. Her eyes narrowed, focusing on the spot between his shoulder blades.

Inuyasha is going to die…

With that thought looming in her mind, she released the arrow.

This time, pain was the first thing that she noticed, in fact, it was the only thing she noticed other than the blackness slowly consuming the edges of her vision. The pain coupled with the feeling that her head was about to pop off from the pressure, made the fact that she was unable to breathe a secondary agenda. A vice-like grip around her throat stopped all thoughts from reaching her brain, and she could feel her mouth opening to try and gasp for air.

Her sight was becoming darker as spots took up what little sight she had left while she was still keeping consciousness. Judging by how limp her body was already feeling, and the wave of dizziness wrapping around, that was not going to last very much longer. She released another pained hiss when his hold tightened even more and it snapped her back into the reality of the situation. She was being strangled to death…

She raised her hand to his wrist, griping it in desperation in what little strength she had, her bow forgotten on the grass beneath her. She can't die. Not now. This can't be happening. The numbing pain wrapping around her throat, and the burning sensation in her lungs, said otherwise.

Her chest was screaming at her to breathe, yet each time she tried overwhelming fear started to slowly engulf her, drowning her, when she couldn't douse the burning in her lungs. The feeling of helplessness surrounded her and she knew her body was succumbing to its demise. She was going to die.

The reason why she was here, being choked to death, decided to remind her by choose that moment to appear in her thoughts: Inuyasha, lying in Kaede's hut, dying.

Her hands were fumbling, moving in desperation as her right hand reached behind her. Her fingers coiled around the wooden shaft of an arrow, and with a silent scream her hand swung with all her might. Then, the pressure released from her throat and she gasped for air, falling onto her knees. The air she sucked in greedily was wasted, for all of it was coughed back out into the world.

Her vision was starting to return to her and she glanced up.

Sesshomaru was looking down, an arrow sticking out on either side of his arm. The demon was looking at the injury as if it was a mere thorn in his paw, instead of an arrow lodged through his forearm. He then looked away from his wound and back towards her.

Kagome's eyes narrowed at the demon as she reached up and placed her hand around her neck, as if to guard it from another attack. Do it again, and I'll stab you with another one!

But instead of attacking again, the demon merely raised his arm, and placed one end of the arrow between his teeth. With a snap, the end was broken. He then placed the other side between his fangs and pulled, not even flinching when the arrow was torn free. With his arm no longer shish kebabed, the demon lord reached up to his teeth and removed the feathered end of the arrow from his canines. He glanced down at the broken arrow between his claws, inspecting it. He then looked away from the item, and golden meet blue, causing her to shiver beneath his gaze. He twirled the object between his fingers, as he continued to stare at her.

His hand glowed green, and she watched as the arrow melted in his grasp, and just like that it was gone. A lump formed in the miko's throat as she stared at his still sizzling hand, and she swallowed, hard. He flicked his hand, as if dispelling what was left of the offending goo from his fingers.

He then turned and started walking away…

Kagome was left stunned, hypnotized by the swaying motion of his hair as he moved. Then her brain kicked back in and she shook her head. She opened her mouth to stop him, but then she froze, the words catching in her aching throat. Wait, what is she doing? She should be glad he is leaving and she is still breathing. The image of Inuyasha came back into her mind and a block of ice settled in her stomach.

She knew she couldn't let him leave.

Her lips parted, but just as she was about to shout for him to stop, her words were cut off by his voice, that was like the cold steel of a blade. "Come with me, miko."

And her body began moving on its own accord, obeying the command, her bow left lying on the grass, forgotten.

* * *

She didn't know where she was going, her eyes glued to the ground as she followed behind the western lord's steps quietly. The grass today looked especially green this evening. She wondered if that would be her last thought before she died. It was saddening, really.

Then the grass suddenly turned into dirt and Kagome had to blink at the sudden change of motif. She looked up, and her heart hit her throat as her mouth was moving and nothing spilled out, too shocked to speak.

Before her, shining like a beacon of hope was Kaede's hut.

Her feet began moving on their own and she ran past the demon, his pace too slow for her at the moment, but he didn't seem to care and allowed her to zoom by. A smile was spread across her face, as her hand moved the mat to the side that was covering the door, and she stopped cold in her tracks. Her smile fell, and her heart drowned in her own sorrow.

Everyone was sitting around Inuyasha's pale body, some in tears, while all had the expression of pain and regret on their faces as they turned to look at her.

"No." No, no no no no. "No no no!" The word kept repeating over and over again in her mind, as the same phrase came out of her lips as she ran to his side, almost tripping and falling over her own feet. "No! No!" They moved out of her way as she fell onto her knees and tears stung her eyes. "No! He-he can't be dead!" She bent down and placed her ear to his chest. He was not breathing, and his heart, it was not beating. "No!" She clamped her eyes shut as if to will away the thought from her mind and she shook her head, burying her face in his unmoving chest. This time, it was not a false alarm. Inuyasha was dead. His body cold beneath her.

"Move." She could barely hear the command over the blood roaring in her ears.

She opened her eyes, seeing a white blur of fabric in her vision. The others were no longer around, but she found her eyes glaring at the cold black boots that laid before her with as much fierceness as she could muster while her eyes stung with tears. She was not going to move. She was not going to leave his side. Her hands clinched the red fabric of his fire rat clothing, wishing she could will his soul back into the living if she clung to his shirt tightly enough.

A slow sound of metal scraping, a blur of motion, then a flash of light that caused her to close her eyes once more. Then she heard it: The sound of a rhythmic beating in her ears, so soft, she almost thought she was imagining it at first. It became louder, stronger, and she could feel her lungs fill up with a gasp. She raised her head and her eyes started to swell up with wetness once more when she saw his chest rising and falling beneath her fingers.

He was breathing!

She placed her cheek to his chest again, and sighed at the joyous feeling that warmed her at the sound of a comforting beat against her ear.

His heart was beating!

She sat up, smiling as she looked down at his face, noticing that he was no longer pale, and instead a healthy glow was in his cheeks. She opened her mouth to say a prayer, but then she remembered why it was possible, and her head quickly turned to the cold lord—she paused when she saw the covering over the door swaying, signaling that the demon had already departed, his deed finished.

The others quickly found their place by Inuyasha's side, their faces no longer showing regret and pain, but joyful relief. Instead of being with them, her body was moving on its own, following behind the ghost of white. She moved the flap, and she looked around, spotting him just a few feet away.

"Sesshomaru." Her call caused him to pause and glance at her over his shoulder. She didn't know what to say—"Thank you." – So she thanked him.

"I did not do it for gratitude." His words were cold, like always, but she detected a hint of venom in them.

Her mind began swirling around in confusion. "Why?" The word fell out of her dazed lips. Why did he bring him back? What was his reason? There had to be a reason. He didn't just save his brother out of the kindness of his heart. She believed Sesshomaru had no heart.

She tried to repress the image of sweet Rin smiling, her heart giving a twang. Then again, maybe she has seen a small—_very_ small—heart of warmth starting to grow beneath that cold glacier of a demon. Maybe he was just being nice? She could only hope.

Just when she thought she wouldn't get an answer, he spoke. "A debt." He was already walking once more, disappearing into the forest before the words were even finished leaving his lips. Kagome stood there as the words hovered in the air like a plague.

A debt.

She repeated in her mind as it echoed tauntingly. He was not kind. He did not care about his brother's life at all. He did it because it was convenient for him, and he had something to gain from taking advantage of their moment of desperation. He was still heartless and cold. Nothing has changed.

From that moment on she knew the uneasiness settling in her beast would not go away. One day he would come for her, seeking a favor, and no matter what, she would be unable to refuse him. Because she was now in his debt.

She could feel his claws squeezing her heart and she raised her hand over her chest, clinch her shirt as if to quell the imaginary pain and fear. Kagome wasn't sure why she had a feeling of dread sweep over her, because she knew that was no way going to happen.

Sesshomaru would never need her help for anything, after all, she was a human. What could he possibly need her help for, that he couldn't do himself?

So she turned and walked back into the hut with that lingering thought in her mind, trying to contain the restlessness that wouldn't go away, no matter what logical argument she came up with.


	3. Swim-soot

Note: To those who have this story set to alert, I have changed my summary of this story, just to warn you next time when you get a alert and the summary is different then before and you might think it's a different story. Its not.

_**Story**_

It had been a couple of months since she saw him, Sesshomaru that is. In fact, she has not thought about him once in their travels until recently. They were traveling, looking for the shards like normal, while hunting down Naraku, the demon she should be thinking about—except she is reminiscing about the wrong demon instead, and distracting herself.

She gave a small sigh as she lagged slightly behind everyone in the group.

He revived his brother, then just leaves after saying that she now owed him a debt. It frightened her at first, and after finding Inuyasha would be okay, she went home. She returned with a fresher mind and a brighter disposition, so she completely forgot about him, keeping him away from her thoughts.

It was easy enough to do with a spirited fox demon and a certain dog fighting among themselves all the time, and her, stuck between them while trying to keep the peace. After months of traveling, they had yet to come across a single shard, even so, Inuyasha has been rather complacent in allowing her to go home when she wanted to. Maybe when he died, his bad attitude died with him and he came back a changed person?

A small snort escaped her nose in disbelief and she shook her head. When pigs fly.

Speaking of flying pigs—Sesshomaru reviving Inuyasha in the first place was something short of amazing and impossible. She stabbed him in the arm with an arrow, and he revived his brother from the dead. It was a weird miracle, really. She hummed. Maybe he is just a masochist? Which was odd, because she pegged him more as the sadist type.

"_A debt."_ His words still continue to ring in her mind, haunting her.

When he came for her, what was she going to do? Or more correctly: What was he going to ask her to do? It was not like she could refuse him.

She could still feel his clawed hand wrapped around her neck. She reached up and touched her throat, recalling the pain. Maybe it would be best if she didn't think about it.

Something grabbed her shoulder- She jumped and screamed. When her eyes caught sight of fire-red, she sighed. She reached up to her rapidly beating chest to try and calm it down. "Don't scare me like that Inuyasha."

"Scare you? What did you expect me to do when you wouldn't answer me?" He huffed and crossed his arm over his chest.

"Oh." She looked away from him. "Sorry." No longer looking at Inuyasha, she quickly noticed that they were alone. "Where are the others?"

He used his thumb to point over his shoulder. "I told everyone to make camp for the night." He grumbled. "But you kept on walking and ignored me."

"I wasn't ignoring you." She defended. "I was just thinking, and I said I was sorry, didn't I?"

"Feh." He snorted. "Whatever."

He turned and walked away from her, heading towards the tree line where the others made camp. The miko rolled her eyes, but soon followed after him.

.-

"Isn't it a little early to be making camp?" Kagome looked up at the sky. The sun wasn't going to set for another hour or two.

"We are camping because I said so." Inuyasha huffed as he removed his sword from his hip so he could plop down on the ground.

Sango leaned over towards the miko and whispered into her ear. "He noticed that you have been acting different all day."

"I have?" She blinked, before recalling that she has been thinking about Sesshomaru most of the day.

"You have been lagging behind the rest of us. You kept sighing too, it was hard not to notice." She smiled at her. "I think he was worried about you."

"Worried about me?" She repeated in surprise. "Really?" Just the thought made warmth spread through her.

"Feh." The dog demon objected from across the camp. "I wasn't worried about shit." He defended himself. "The next town is still a while away. I figured if we was going to stop for camp anyway, might as well do it while the sun was still out and we can make a good fire before it turns dark." He stuffed his hands in his sleeve pockets.

"Right…" She smiled sweetly at the gruff male and once he caught sight of it, a small dash of red invaded his cheeks and he turned his head away from her.

He quickly tried to change the subject. "I can smell water nearby, if you want to bathe." His nose gave a small twitch. "It isn't a hot spring, but it should do."

She stood up from her seat, taking her pack with her. "You want to come?" She invited Sango, but the hunter just shook her head.

"Not tonight." Sango sighed as she looked over at Miroku and Shippo, who were currently trying to make a fire, and failing. "I still have to start the fire."

"Alright." Kagome nodded. "I won't be gone long."

She looked over at Inuyasha and he pointed behind his shoulder. "It is in that direction." He told her. "By the strong scent it must be a lake or something, can't miss it."

"Thanks." She thanked him as she passed his seated form, headed where he pointed.

.-

Just taking off her shoes and socks for now, Kagome gave a small shiver when she put her feet into the cold water. She allowed her legs to dangle over the edge, the cold liquid swallowing them up until it reached her knees. She stared down at the dark waters for a few moments and then tilted her head.

She just came back after being home today, she didn't _need_ to take a bath. Why did Inuyasha suggest it? She paused and blinked. She didn't stink, did she? He raised her shirt up to her nose and took a sniff. She could still smell the apple scented body wash on her, so that couldn't be it.

Not only that, but making the camp this close to the water. Did he do that on purpose? Why?

"_I think he was worried about you." _

This might seem crazy but… maybe Inuyasha did it to be nice? The dog demon knows she enjoys taking a bath, so he went out of his way to make the camp near this water, even if it cost them precious shard hunting time.

If that was true then… that was very sweet of him. She smiled to herself as she kicked her feet in the water with a hum, the temperature no longer effecting her.

She turned around, keeping her legs in the water, and stretched to reach for her bag. Once she got it, she placed it onto her lap and began rummaging through it for her bathing utensils. Her towel, brush, extra clothes. She placed them beside of her as she found them. She had to dig a little deeper the find the shampoo—A chill went down her spine and the bottle slipped from her fingers in shock.

The bottle hitting the water caused tiny droplets to hit her thigh and goose bumps appeared. Slowly, they spread upwards across her whole body and she shivered as her blood turned to ice. The bottle was floating softly away from her, but she dared not move, frozen still as she watched it escaped, wishing she could do the same. Her heart pounding in her ears.

He was close. His power almost knocked the breath out of her, and his aura felt like it was constricting her chest. He wasn't just _close_… He was behind her. She knew it. His gaze was upon her, she could feel it. She could feel his clawed hands around her neck, the stinging of his acid as it burned through her skin.

She slowly raised her hand to her neck, and lightly touched it with the tips of her fingers, finding nothing there. She started to breathe a little easier, but the chill of fear still made her body unable to move.

Don't turn around.

She kept repeating to herself.

Don't look.

She knew if she did, he would be there.

She touched her neck again, reminding herself that it might just be another illusion, because of her fear.

He might not really be there…

As if her body was made of glass, she carefully turned around. Her joints almost creaking at the painfully slow movement.

Her blue crystals caught sight of silken white fabric. Slowly her gaze went higher, and there was a yellow ribbon. Higher still, and her throat began to clinch on its own and she couldn't breathe. Thick black armor, sharp spikes, and more white beneath. Due to his closeness, she found herself unconsciously leaning forward so she could see higher.

The pale glow of his skin peaking between the fabric, stretching into a long neck and strong jawline. Two striped markings on either side of his cheek, permanently placed there along with his lips, constantly in a small frown. Finally, molten gold came into her sight, and her own crystal grew in size, a gasp escaped her lips.

Her mouth still ajar, she tried to speak, but no words would come out, so she just sat there, staring back at him like a deer caught in the headlights. She was leaning so much forward, she tried not to fall into the water, but at the same time, wished that she would, so that she could escape him.

That might work. He doesn't like water, right? No wait that's cats—crap!

"Umm." The word fell out without control as her brain tried to restart itself. "Hello, Sesshomaru." He didn't move from his spot, and just continued to stare at her. "I-I mean, _Lord_ Sesshomaru." She swallowed the lump in her throat and her hand that was still holding her bag became cold and clammy, almost slipping out of her grasp.

"You are alone." He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "How very convenient."

Ah, crap. The killer usually says that kind of thing before they… well…_ kill_ you. Was it too late to try jumping in the water and swimming for it? "A-are you here for me to repay the debt I owe—"

"No." His voice was so crisp it sliced through her words, and she became still.

Then why—

He finally broke eye contact with her and glanced around the area with just a quick shift of his golden irises, then lifted his chin ever so slightly. He looked over to the side. "It is safe." He called out.

There was a rustle in the bushes a few feet away, before a familiar little girl broke through the shrubbery with a smile on her face. "Kagome!" She broke out in a run, and before the miko could react her lungs were knocked out of her and she dropped her bag into the water, glad that it wasn't her instead.

"Rin?" The miko blinked in surprise.

"I'm happy to see you!" The girl squeezed tighter and Kagome let out a groan. Dang, this girl was stronger than she looks!

Sesshomaru turned and walked away from them. Like usual he sat beneath a tree with his knee raised, his arm draped over it as he watched the exchange between the two girls from afar.

"What are you doing?" The girl asked as she pulled away from her and freeing the woman from her death hug.

"Well I_** was**_ going to take a bath…" She glanced over at the bag that was now floating in the water, everything inside of it most likely wet. She sighed and reached out, grabbing the bag, and lifted it up. She watched as the excess water streamed down it and caused the bag to be twice as heavy.

"Oh! It' my fault isn't it? I'm so sorry." The girl looked down at her lap, and began to fiddle with the trimming of her nice kimono nervously.

With a grunt she put the soaking bag beside her. "It's alright. I didn't need to take a bath anyway. I was just going to do it to relax and pass time." She gave the girl a soft smile. "But now that you are here, I can talk to you instead."

The girl flashed a big smile. "Right!"

.-

Light laughter filled the open area as the two females giggled amongst themselves.

"It tickles." Rin was smiling to herself as she looked down at the water and watched the fish swim up to her feet and nibble her toes.

Kagome laughed and leaned down to the girl, as if whispering a secret to her. "I know."

The little girl's smile grew and she wiggled her toes, attracting the fish even more. "Were you really going to wash in the lake Kagome?" Rin looked up at her with concern. "The water is too deep. I don't think you would be able to touch the bottom if you jumped in."

"Well it might be a little bit of a hassle to take a bath if I have to keep afloat the whole time, but I could manage." Kagome noticed that Rin was giving her a strange look and he miko raised an eyebrow at the expression. "Is something wrong?"

"You know how to float in the water… like a log?"

Kagome nodded. "Yeah. Of course. Everyone can float in water."

Rin blinked. "Even me?" The girl shook her head. "I have never been in deep water before. I was always too scared to go near it."

The miko paused. "You don't know how to swim?" The girl shook her head again and Kagome's expression softened towards her. Guess that makes sense. Not many people in this time does. It was very uncommon. They had no need to learn how to swim, unless they lived near the ocean or used boats. "Would you like me to teach you?" The girl quickly turned her head to stare at her in disbelief, it almost made Kagome laugh.

"I can float like a log too?"

This time Kagome did laugh. "Yes. But it will take some time."

Rin nodded her head so quickly the miko was afraid she would get dizzy and fall off the edge of the bank. "I don't want to be afraid of the water anymore."

"Alright, I will." Kagome told her. "But not this time. The water it too cold and deep here." Seeing the disappointed look on the girls face Kagome reached out and patted her head. "Don't look so sad. You just have to wait till next time."

"But it took Lord Sesshomaru a long time before he allowed me to see you."

"Ah, I see." Kagome glanced out of the corner of her eyes, and looked at the demon lord's direction. He was watching them, like he always does. Kagome smiled to herself and bent down, whispering even though she knew he could probably still hear them. "Well, you will just have to be a little more persistent in asking him to come see me."

Rin's smile grew and she giggled. "Okay!"

A small breeze came through and Kagome lifted her head up, enjoying the wind as it whipped her hair behind her softly while bringing in the fresh scent of the clean air around them. It was too bad the smog in the present made moments like this hard to come by, unless you lived out in the country.

"Rin." The cold voice cut through the calmness, almost making Kagome jump. "We are leaving." The demon was already walking towards the tree line on the other side of the area, departing.

"Coming lord Sesshomaru!" The girl quickly removed her feet from the water and gave chase—The girl skidded to a halt and turned around, giving the miko a small hug. "I'll see you again Kagome."

"Goodbye Rin." Kagome smiled and returned the hug happily.

The future girl watched as the two departed, and waited till they were completely gone before raising her now pruned feet from the water. Kagome looked at her still soaked bag and sighed. She bent down and began gathering her only dry things in her arms—

"Kagome!" A familiar shout caused her to pause.

"Huh?" She looked up just as she heard the sound of a whoosh and red suddenly blocked her vision as he landed directly in front of her.

"Where is he!?" Inuyasha had his sword drawn out, looking around franticly as he stood protectively in front of her. "Where is he!?"

Kagome stood up and gave him a questionably look. "Who?"

"My dumbass brother!" His words make her eyes go wide in surprise.

"S-Sesshomaru?"

"No. I got another idiot brother—Of course Sesshomaru!" He huffed.

"W-why would he be here?"

"How the hell should I know?" He lowered his weapon a little and looked at her. "I caught scent of him in the wind and came here as fast as I could." The breeze earlier… Sesshomaru knew that the wind shifted direction. They were now up wind and Inuyasha would pick up his scent—That's why he left with Rin.

"I don't know what you are talking about… I haven't seen him." God, she is such a terrible liar. "I have been alone until you got here." Inuyasha gave her a questionable look. "Maybe you are just smelling an old trail or something." She tried to think of something logical to throw him off track.

"No." He shook his head. "It's fresh." He narrowed his eyes at her. "You _sure_ you didn't see him? I swear"—He lifted his nose into the air and sniffed—"it's like he was standing right"-Another sniff—"here."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm pretty sure I would know if I saw him peeping on me, Inuyasha."

The half-demon gave a snort through his nose and finally put his sword back into its scabbard. "As if _**Sesshoumaru**_ would want to look at that…"

A heated blush filled her cheeks at his offhanded comment. "Sit!"

Asshole…

.-

After that night's encounter Kagome did not see hide nor hair of the demon lord and his ward for a month. She had already gone home, not that Inuyasha enjoyed it, and took a few tests she needed to make up for her classes. She also decided to pick up a few things while she was in modern society. Once she returned, Inuyasha was in a foul mood, and told her to hurry up and to move out.

There was a rumor of a jewel shard not too far away…

And that is the update for the moment. They were currently walking along the river, going towards the next town where the rumor of the jewel shard came from.

"Come on guys, pick up your pace." Inuyasha was barking orders from his position in front of the group.

Sango sighed. "Can't we slow down Inuyasha? We are not sure if the rumor about this shard is even true."

"You don't know that." The dog huffed. "But we must check out each lead we have no matter what."

"If I may say something?" Miroku spoke up. "We have been traveling for days. It might be best if we rest. If we continue this way we might not be able to fight at our fullest, should a demon appear before us."

"No. We continue at this pace, we will be there tomorrow evening." Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest. "The sooner we get there the better."

Sango huffed. "The shard isn't going to go anywhere."

"Still, have to keep going or we might lose it." He snorted. "Or maybe Naraku might get it before we do."

Shippo poked his head out from behind Kagome's shoulder and whispered into her ear. "Hey, Kagome?"

"Hmm?" The miko looked away from the exchange between the three other members of the group and put her attention on the fox.

"Maybe you should pretend to be upset about something." Shippo suggested.

Kagome raised an eyebrow and laughed beneath her breath. "Why would I do that?"

"When you were all depressed before, Inuyasha let us camp early." Quickly figuring out where this was headed, Kagome sighed. "So if you pretend to be upset about something again, he might let us rest."

"Shippo, when Inuyasha gets in his moods, even I can't stop him from being so hateful."

"I can hear you." A small shout came from said demon.

Kagome glanced in his direction and saw his ears swiveling around as the demon was watching them over his shoulder. "Well then, you can hear this:" She raised her tone. "We are making camp right now, whether you want to or not."

"What!?" The demon turned to argue with her, but Kagome just huffed and plopped her rear-end on the ground right where she stood. "You can't be serious—"

"I'm tired." She motioned to the others. "We are all tired, and I am not moving until we rest for the night."

"Kagome." Inuyasha now stood in front of the miko. "You get off of that ground right now or so help me I'll—"

With a huff she crossed her arms over her chest and sent him a glare. "I _**dare**_ you to finish that sentence…"

There was slight hesitation from the dog demon as he stared down at the woman before him. His ears twitched in aggravation, and his hands balled into fists by his side as a snarl curled into his lips. "Feh!" He gave a harsh snort in her direction. "Do whatever you want!" He threw his hands in the air and turned on his heels. "I don't care anymore!"

As the others gathered around her and started to build a fire, they thanked the young miko. She smiled, knowing that they appreciated it.

Inuyasha grunted when he too plopped down, choosing to sit on a large rock that was placed beside the river. The half-demon was mumbling under his breath, his arms crossed and his eyebrows angled together. He looked like a pouting child.

A small smile was placed on her face, laughing in amusement at the dog's childish attitude.

.-

The day has been warmer than usual, which was more than likely a sign of summer's fast approach. The sun was still set high in the sky, sending light through the cracks in the leaves above them as they continued onward through the forest. Nothing has approached them today, or more correctly, nothing has been stupid enough to approach them.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" The sound of his ward calling for his attention caused him to glance down at her out of the corner of his eyes. When she noticed this, she smiled up at him. "I was wondering…" The child began to fiddle with the trimming of her sleeve in nervousness as she walked beside him. "Can we go see Kagome today?"

He didn't even give himself a moment to think about it before giving his reply. "No." He believed his answer was firm, leaving no room for argument.

"Please, milord?" Obviously, Rin didn't think the same. "I would like to see her. Can't we just make a short trip for an hour or two?"

His servant spoke up from behind them. "Are your ears not working? Lord Sesshomaru said no."

"I heard him." She retorted. "But I just thought if I said please, then Lord Sesshomaru would-"

He didn't have to, but he repeated again. "No."

The girl looked back up at him and pouted. "Pretty please? It has been so long since I have seen her."

Jaken spoke up once again. "Do you have any idea how far away they are?"

"Well, no." The girl was shuffling her feet beneath her as she walked. "But I'm sure Lord Sesshomaru can find them, and we can be there in no time if we fly."

"Silly girl, Lord Sesshomaru doesn't have time"—At that moment the demon lord decided to tune the two's argument out of his mind.

Sesshomaru turned his head so he could fully stare at the girl. What is wrong with her? She is acting stranger than usual. Deciding to end the fighting, he spoke up. When he did, his tone was low, showing his seriousness. "No, Rin." The two instantly stopped their bickering amongst themselves and the forest was once again filled with silence.

Yet that stillness did not last very long…

"Lord Sesshomaru?" The tone in her voice gave away what she was going to say next. "I know you already said no…" The girl started to fidget once again as she walked beside him. "But I really want to see her. She said she was going to teach me how to swim." The girl then continued on her ramblings, talking about the woman.

Amidst the chattering, the demon started to ponder. She has never questioned him before. What could have possibly brought on such rebellion?

"_Well, you will just have to be a little more persistent in asking him to come see me."_ His eyes hardened at the memories.

That miko. This was her doings. He should have killed her back when he had his claws around her throat.

Yet the girl did not notice his aggravation and continued on. "So can we go Lord Sesshomaru?"

There is still time to rectify that mistake.

Kagome was sitting around the fire with everyone, waiting for the fish to be cooked, when she sensed it. Or should she say: she sensed _him_.

The cold power that went through her and chilled her senses. There was no mistaking it, now that she has gotten all too familiar with his powerful demonic aura:

Sesshomaru.

Once her powers were screaming at her in alarm to the strong presence, she glanced around the camp. Sango was keeping an eye on the food, so that it didn't burn, while Shippo just stared at it, drooling. Miroku was keeping his violet orbs glued to _something else_, whenever Sango would bend over to check on the fish. Kagome rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Inuyasha was still in his pouting mood, sitting on his rock and facing away from them.

No one noticed Sesshomaru's closeness but her…

She will admit that Sesshomaru might be too far away at the moment for Inuyasha's nose to pick up his scent just yet, but his demonic aura was unchained for any and all to sense from miles away easily. Sesshomaru was proud of his strength, and he never hid it away, in fact he allowed it to disperse, becoming a flaming beacon, alerting anyone that he was approaching.

And if one was too blind to see the forest fire coming towards them… they will soon be burned alive.

Yet Miroku is not blind. In fact he is better trained at sensing demons then her. She would like to think the only reason she can sense Sesshomaru is that she is getting better at her priestess abilities, but she knew that was most likely false. She has just been around the demon more recently and her senses have gotten sensitive to his distinctive aura.

Kagome closed her eyes and tried to pinpoint his location, or at least how far away he was. After a moment, she felt her eyebrows come together in concentration. He was close… and he was getting closer. He was headed right for them! "Um!" The word blurted out of her mouth when she suddenly got to her feet and her eyes snapped open. Everyone was now staring at her and she gave a nervous laugh, scratching behind her head. "I…" She looked around before pointing further up the river. "I am going to take a swim."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her. "Now?"

"Dinner is almost ready." Sango spoke up as she tilted her head in confusion at her.

Kagome bent down and picked up her bag. "I won't be gone long."

Not waiting for any of them to object further, or have time to think too hard about her sudden need to take a swim, she was already moving away from them. She casually slung her backpack over her shoulder and sighed, leaving the group behind, slightly dumbfounded at her swift departure.

.-

After Kagome believed she was far enough away from the others, she sat down on a rock by the river and waited.

His aura was getting closer and closer at a clam and consistent pace. The closer he got, the faster her heart would race. He was heading right towards her…

Of course he was.

It wasn't an accident he was nearby. He was coming for her. There was no other reason for it. She knew this, which is why she quickly moved away from the other so she could be alone. It would not only be hard to explain, but there would most likely be a huge fight with Inuyasha and his brother should they meet.

He was getting closer still, and she shivered as a chill went down her spine. It felt as if he was directly on top of her—

"Kagome!" A familiar call caused the miko to smile to herself.

Kagome hopped off the rock, and when she did, she couldn't help but laugh when small arms encircled around her legs in a hug. "Hello Rin." She patted the girl on the head, earning a giggle from the child.

"You are alone again." The causal statement held a hint of curiosity. Kagome glanced up and meet his golden stare. "Do you so foolishly wander away from your group without protection every night?"

She couldn't help but defend herself with a huff. "No."

"Yet this is the second time I sought you out, and the second time you have been unaccompanied." His eyes narrowed in suspicion at her. "Mere coincidence? I believe not." Her fear spiked at his tone, knowing he was on edge by this. "If you think you can entrap this one…" He allowed his warning to fade, not needing to go into too much detail. It wasn't hard to guess that it would most likely end with his claws wrapped around her neck.

"I know you don't trust me, but I'm not trying to trick you." Kagome placed her hand onto her chest, where her heart was beating rapidly. "It was just by luck the first time you saw me that I was alone, but this time I sensed you before you appeared. I left the others so we could meet away from them."

The demon stared at her for several moments, and she could feel her throat becoming dry. Subconsciously she swallowed—His eyes hardened towards her and she flinched in reflex, closing her eyes for an expected blow. When nothing came, she bravely—but slowly—opened her eyes again.

He was walking away from her, towards a tree that stood alone near the river. "Keep your visit brief, Rin. I have no desire to linger here all day."

The small girl's expression dropped ever so slightly. "Yes, Milord." But she didn't object.

Kagome frowned and bent down so that she was eye level with the child. "Don't be so sad, Rin." She told her. "After all, I thought we were going to learn how to swim today?"

The girls face instantly lit up with joy, causing the priestess to smile. "Yay!"

.-

Kagome was shuffling through her bag, when Rin came up to her. "What are you doing?" She asked, curious.

"I'm looking for—Ah-ha!" Kagome gave a triumphant cry when she pulled out what she was looking for, a bright smile on her face. "For this." She held it out for Rin to see, and the girl's eyes grew wide.

"That is a beautiful kimono." The girl reached out and touched it lightly, tracing the detailed flower printed on it. "It feels so smooth…"

"It's called a swimsuit." She told her. "And it's yours."

Upon hearing her words Rin's head shot up and looked at her with big brown doe eyes. "Really!?"

Kagome laughed. "Yes. I bought it for you." She handed the small outfit to her. "You should go change into it." Rin held up the outfit, and titled her head. She looked up at the miko questionably, and Kagome got the hint. "I'll help you." She reached down and grabbed the girls hand, leading her towards the tree line so they could have some privacy.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" She repeated.

"Don't you have a swim-soot?"

Kagome smiled at the word, but didn't bother to correct her. "I do." She lifted up her shirt, revealing her stomach, which was covered in a red and blank design. "I knew you was coming, so I got ready while I waited."

Rin nodded, and Kagome pulled down her shirt with a tug. As they were walking towards the tree line, she unconsciously looked over at Sesshomaru. He was staring at them, never moving his head, but his eyes following them as they walked past. Kagome tried to control the chill that came with his relentless gaze. She was thankful when they reached the bushes to change.

When they came back out, Rin was even more excited, pulling her along as she held her hand. "I like this swim-soot!" The girl laughed, tugging on the frilled skirt that was placed onto the outfit, which suited her perfectly.

"I think it makes you look very cute, Rin." Her comment caused the child to blush a pretty pink.

Sesshomaru still observed, continuing to follow them with his golden spheres. His expression never changed from its usual uncaring self, but she could feel his gaze become even colder. The chill upon her skin would not stop, feeling no bigger than a flea as he watched them walk past him in their swimming outfits. When the water finally hit her bare flesh, she didn't even feel the drop in temperature, in fact, it felt warm compared to the icy stare the demon was giving them.

Once she was in the thigh deep water, she coaxed the girl to follow, forcing herself to forget about the demon beneath the tree, and focus on the child. "Don't worry Rin, I'm here." The water came up to the child's chest, and she could see why she was worried, but the flow of the water was gentle. The girl got into the water, holding onto the miko's hand, and Kagome smiled softly. "Now, I'm going to teach you how to float like a log."

The girls eyes grew in delight and Kagome laughed.

.-

The miko was sitting in the water, and now the liquid came up to her chest. "Good job, Rin." Kagome was watching the girl carefully as she floated on her back in front of her. The child currently had her eyes closed, liking the feeling of the water around her.

Rin giggled. "Your voice sounds funny."

"That's because your ears are in the water." Kagome was enjoying herself as she watched Rin float around her. "Now that you learned how to float, I can start teaching you how to doggy paddle."

"Dog?" Rin repeated as she opened her eyes and looked up at her. "Like Lord Sesshomaru?"

Kagome blinked at the girls comment, and thought: Sesshomaru in his human form, doggy paddling. She reached up, placing her hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter that spilled forth.

When her set of giggles left her, she removed her hand and sighed. "It's how dogs swim, which is why it's called a 'doggy paddle'." She told her. Rin just shrugged and closed her eyes again.

As Kagome stood there for a minute, she began to think. She guessed the girl might be right. If Sesshomaru changed into his true from and jumped into an ocean or something that actually did involve him swimming.

There was a rustle in the bushes on the other side of the river, and Kagome tensed up, turning to look. Worry started to fill her, for she didn't have her bow on her—She glanced over at her backpack that was on the opposite end of the river. She wasn't sure if she had anything to attack with, even if she did reach her pack.

The bushes moved and Kagome's fear spiked—A buck, large and strong, hopped over the bushes and out into view. The deer looked directly into her eyes and she sighed, relaxing.

The deer was beautiful, with its ten points placed upon its head showing its age. Kagome smiled to herself, and called to the child, but didn't break the eye contact she had with the animal. "Rin, look at this deer." Just as the words slipped from her lips, the deer's ears perked up and swiveled around. It turned his head so that it was looking behind her. The animal's body tensed up and it quickly turned and leaped back into the bushes, causing the young miko's smile to fall.

Kagome glanced over her shoulder and huffed, seeing Sesshomaru still sitting beneath his tree and looking at them. "You scared him off."

"I did nothing." He spoke up. "The animal is just merely intelligent enough to understand danger and flee from it." He told her. "Unlike you humans, who are ignorant to heed even such basic instincts."

Is he calling us stupid? Kagome gave a huff. Does he always have to be such an ass? "Okay Rin." The miko turned back around. "I'll show you how to-" Kagome paused when she didn't see the girl floating in front of her anymore. "Rin?" She looked down into the water, not seeing her. "Rin!" She raised her gaze and began scanning the area—

A large shadow popped up from the water beside her. Cold liquid splashed on her flesh, sending a chill through her while a loud roar fell from the creature's mouth. Unconsciously a scream came from her lips in surprise and she almost fell back into the water. Yet when the sound of giggles filled the air, Kagome huffed, seeing Rin laughing at her.

"Got you!" The girl continued to laugh.

"Oh~!" Kagome lowered her hand from her thrashing heart. "You sneak!" The miko smirked to herself, then took her hands and sent a wave of water towards the girl.

The child sputtered in surprise then had a look of disbelief on her face. The expression was enough to cause the miko to give off a few laughs of her own, until cold droplets soaked her, the child returning the favor. Kagome was in shock at first, but then she quickly got over it and the two girls began their water war with each other, laughing and screaming in delight while pushing attack after attack of the river water towards their enemy.

That is, until Mr. Party Pooper decided to ruin it. "Rin." The demon waited till the girls laughter died down, and the water fighting ceased, to speak again. "I believe I stated that I'm not willing to remain here all day."

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru." Rin's expression dropped in disappointment. "I have to go now, Kagome."

Kagome stood up in the water. "I'll help you get undressed."

.-

"Thanks for everything Kagome." Rin spoke up as they were walking towards Sesshomaru. When they reached him, the child turned towards her and held out her swimsuit.

Kagome shook her head. "It's yours. You keep it."

The child's eyes lit up, and she hugged the outfit to her chest tightly. "Thank you!" The girl being so happy from such a simple thing caused the older female to smile at her innocence.

Without warning the demon lord turned and started walking away. Noticing this, Rin quickly followed after him—"Wait!" Kagome called out to them and Rin stopped, but Sesshomaru took another step before he paused as well.

The miko ran over to her pack, which was just a few feet away and began shuffling quickly through it's containments. Once her finger wrapped around something smooth and she heard a crinkle, the woman smiled. With a tug she pulled out a small bag with assorted candy inside of it.

Kagome swiftly went back over to the duo, and crouched down so she was eye level with the girl. "This is for you too." She held the bag out for her to take. "It's more candy." She told her. The girl smiled brightly, then she looked up at the demon, hopeful. Sesshomaru gave a slight nod. Rin squealed in delight and took the gift happily. "Don't eat too much of it at once or you'll get a stomach ache, okay?"

" 'kay!" Rin was now hugging both the bag and her new swimsuit to her chest. And just like that, she was once again watching their backs slowly melt away towards the tree line. Kagome waved as she watched them depart. —"I'll visit soon!" The child's promise echoed in the forest before their bodies completely disappeared.

Kagome couldn't help but smile. The visit was rather nice and she enjoyed herself. She wouldn't mind seeing more of the young girl… and her demon protector.

.-

"I had a great time master Jaken!" Rin continued to excitedly tell the toad how their visit went while riding on top of Ah-uh. "Kagome let me have some more candy. You can have some if you want." The child spoke as best she could with her cheek puffed out from the candy in her mouth. "And she even gave me this!" Rin held up her new outfit for Jaken to see.

Sesshomaru glanced at the two from over his shoulder. When his eyes landed on the strip of cloth the miko gave the child, his eyes narrowed.

The toad stared at the outfit with a questionable look. "A loincloth? You have no use for such a thing."

Rin giggled. "No." She shook her head. "A swim-soot." She corrected him. "You wear it to go swimming so you don't get your clothes wet."

"I see…" Jaken scratched his bald green head with a single clawed finger. "You allowed Rin to wear this indecent outfit Lord Sesshomaru?" When Jaken turned towards him, Sesshomaru fixed his gaze ahead once more.

When his servant didn't receive a reply, he wasn't surprised, and instead continued his conversation with Rin. Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder once more just as Rin placed her new outfit into one of the carrying bags hanging from the dragon mount. The demon lord's golden eyes stayed there for a few more moments as his thoughts drifted away from him. He finally looked away, and continued onward without speaking a word while his two companions conversed with one another throughout the rest of the evening.

.-

Night was upon them. The sky above was filled with blackest of ink, leaving only the stars peeking through its dark sheet. The air was cool against the flesh, yet the warmth from the campfire kept the chill at bay. The night was still, with only the sound of insects disturbing the calmness.

Amidst the snoring, there was a sound of shuffling. The nose was loud enough to alert one of the slumbering cohorts. The green toad slowly cracked open his yellow pupils, and blinked when he saw a shadow moving around the camp.

It moved away from the dragon, and walked over towards the fire, and stood beside the flickering flames. There was smoke at first, then the fire turned green. The weird reaction caused the demon to reach up and rub his eyes, removing the blurriness as he started to become more aware.

When he noticed who it was, he called out. "Milord?" Jaken shifted in his spot. Sesshomaru did not answer, and instead was continuing to stare deeply into the green flames. The toads eyes fell back down into the fire. His eyes grew in size when he spotted a familiar outfit being devoured by the heat. The smaller demon quickly got to his feet. "Isn't that Rin's outfit!?" The toad picked up his staff.

The demon ran towards the fire, and stuck the end of his staff into the hot flames—"Leave it." The command from his master caused the demon to freeze.

"Lord Sesshomaru?"

The demon turned away from the fire and spoke causally over his shoulder. "I will not permit Rin to wear such lewd attire."

Jaken's grip on his staff tightened in objection. He glanced over at the child, who was still sleeping peacefully, curled beside the dragon. He knew that once Rin found out what happened to her outfit, she would be deeply upset. The toad looked back over at his master, watching his back as he walked away.

"Of course, Milord." Yet he dared not speak out against his master's decision…

.-

"Come on Master Jaken. Why won't you take me to the river?" The sound of the girls pleading tone was obvious as she tried to convince the demon to comply with her wishes. "It will just be for an hour or two, Lord Sesshomaru doesn't have to know."

Jaken was sitting on top of a rock. He sighed as he continued to drag the tip of his staff on the ground and making a deep mark in the soft dirt. "Rin. For the past three days you have pestered Lord Sesshomaru and I." The demon grumbled. "He refused to take you, and after he left to scout ahead, you have done nothing but annoy me the whole time he has been gone!"

The child huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I just want to go swimming!"

The mark he was making in the ground was followed by several others. "You are not going." Then a circle, and another line. "Now drop the subject."

"Why won't you let me go?" She placed her hands upon her hips. "There's a reason you won't take me, isn't there?" Noticing that the toad tensed at her words she spoke up. "What is it?"

Jaken shook his head, but never lifted his gaze up from the ground as he continued his work in the dirt. "No reason. I just don't want to go."

"Don't lie to me Master Jaken. Tell me what it is."

The demon huffed. "I don't have to tell you anything."

"If you don't tell me…" Rin's words faded as a smirk appeared on her face. "I'll tell Lord Sesshomaru about the drawings of him you always make while he is gone."

The staff instantly stilled in its movements and the demons head shot up and he looked at her with wide eyes. "You wouldn't—" Seeing the confident look on her face the toad's scaly skin paled. "Why you sneak! Do you want to get me killed!?" The green imp became angry. "You can't go swimming even if I took you anyway!"

The comment caused Rin to blink at him. "What do you mean?"

The toad, realizing he blurted out the secret, froze and gulped. Oops. Well, it's too late now… She might as well know the truth. "Lord Sesshomaru threw your swim-soot in the fire." Jaken huffed.

"He…" The girl stood there with a blank look on her face as the words sunk in. "He wouldn't do that." She shook her head, and her voice became louder as anger filled her. "**You're lying**!" The girl turned on her heels and ran towards the dragon. She began digging through the bag that hung on the mount's saddle.

"I'm not lying." Jaken began to rant behind her. "Why would I lie about such a thing?" The toad crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head away in a growl. "I witnessed him throw it into the fire with my own eyes."

Still not seeing her outfit that Kagome gave her, even after rooting through the bag, the girl started to get desperate. There's just too much stuff in here, that's why she can't see it. Her short fingers would curl around an object or cloth, and it would quickly be discarded, tossed over her shoulder. "You lie." The girl's voice became softer. She was now at the bottom of the bag. "You lie…" She whispered as she stared into the empty bag. Even when tears started to form beneath her eyes she still could not believe it—A tall shadow engulfed her, covering her in darkness. Knowing the familiar outline, she questioned him. "Why?" Her voice was cracked, as she tried not to let the tears fall. "Why Lord Sesshomaru?" She turned around and faced him, staring up at him with her tear filled eyes.

He stared down at her, but did not answer her. She could feel her throat becoming dry, and her vision becoming blurrier. She opened her mouth to question him again, but then his deep voice cut her off. "You are to see that girl no longer." With his command spoken, he turned and started walking away. Jaken noticed that his master was approaching, and he gave a small cry, quickly standing on top of his drawing to try and cover it up. The demon lord paused when he reached his Kappa servant. "Jaken…" The toad gulped and began to sweat profusely. The demon looked down at him from his nose. "Your insubordination shall be dealt with later." With that warning hanging in the air, the demon continued on. "For now, we depart from this place."

The toad began to shake in fear. "Y-yes, milord."

A hiccup escaped Rin's trembling lips as she stood alone with Ah-un. "Kagome…" The tears finally fell, coating her redden cheeks in their salty moisture.

.-

It was quiet. Too quiet. Normally he would be grateful for the silence, and he was at first, but after the third day… The stillness _irrigated_ him. Rin hasn't spoken a single word in three days. It was unlike her. Jaken believed her to be ill, but he knew better. She was pouting, and this was the only way she could get back at him for his decision.

The demon glanced over his shoulder, spotting the girl riding the dragon a few steps behind. He noticed the sad look in her eyes as she didn't even bother to lift her head up, and just continued to stare down at her lap the whole time. Her kimono had become wrinkled and unkempt, as she would pull and tug on the trimming while in thought.

He turned his gaze forward, looking ahead for several minutes as his mind began to turn, thinking about this new predicament, and how to deal with it. "Jaken."

The toad jumped at suddenly hearing his name being called. "Yes, my lord?"

"Look after Rin until I return." With that said, he took off to the sky to cover ground more quickly.

Even though his master was already a small dot among the clouds, the toad still replied happily. "O-of course! You can count on me, your loyal servant!" Jaken puffed out his chest. "Nothing will get by me." He stabbed his staff onto the ground and snorted. "I will watch her without fail!" At this point it was just boosting to himself, and enjoying every minute of it. "Don't worry Rin. You are safe with me!" He gave a hearty laugh. "No one can slip past me!" Jaken turned around, only to freeze in his laughter when the very object he was supposed to be protecting wasn't there. "Rin?" He blinked, not believing that not only the child, but the dragon also vanished from thin air without him knowing. "Rin?" He called out desperately as he looked around. "Where are you Rin!" His voice cracked as one thing replayed in his mind over and over again.

When Lord Sesshomaru returns and he found out that he lost Rin—He was as good as dead.

"_**Rin!"**_

.-

Kagome smiled as she plopped down in the grass beside Shippo, who was currently coloring in his new book she bought for him. The group was now at the village, relaxing after a long week of shard hunting. She was going to return home tomorrow, she had a lot of tests she had to make up. She could feel her face crunch up at the thought of it, but she tried to think positive: The future has math tests, but it also has warm baths and a soft bed.

Not wanting to rush into the sudden cramming and endless tests that was surely going to come when she got back home, Kagome decided to wait to go home till tomorrow. Wishing to spend the remainder of the day resting, in the past with her friends, and not wanting to go home to that storm of a mess that was her homework.

So here she was, playing with Shippo, beside the well. She knew that they would be safe, for no demon was stupid enough to attack this close to the village while Inuyasha was around—

"Kagome? What is that?" The small fox pointed his red crayon towards the sky. The miko glanced upwards, and she tilted her head when she spotted something flying towards them. "It's a dragon!" Shippo was instantly on his feet, dropping his colors. "Kagome! Go into the well!" The first thing he thought of was her safety. "I'll distract it and go get Inuyasha!" The boy reached into his shirt and pulled out his trusty top, even though he was obviously shaking in fear.

Kagome reached out and placed her hand upon his, smiling softly at his bravery. "Wait." She looked back up at the two-headed dragon. "I have seen this dragon before…"

Then she saw the small child riding on top of the beast—"Kagome!" The girl called out to her in joy, while waving with both hands in excitement, almost falling off the dragon once she released the rains. Even though she almost fell, the child still continued to laugh in happiness upon seeing her, her smile spreading ear to ear.

Kagome couldn't help but smile and wave back. "Rin!"

.-

It was dark and damp, like one would suspect inside of a cave. Moisture clung to the air and soaked the walls, diluting even his sensitive nose. Still, the scent of coupling and blood clung to the humid cave like a fine mist of fragrance that only someone of his caliber could detect.

It was _distasteful_, to say the least. Almost as unpleasant as the demon that chose to live in such a state.

Sesshomaru stopped dead in his tracks when his senses picked up something ahead. The demon reached out with a single digit, and hooked his claw on an invisible tread. He pulled downward, and claw did not shred the cord like you would think. Instead the taught string flung back into place, creating a twang sound as it continued to vibrate back and forth a few times until finally ceasing.

Then, he waited.

He didn't have to wait long. "_Lord_ Sesshomaru~" The delighted purr practically exuded from the walls as it echoed down the darkness and into his pointed ears. He reframed from flinching in revulsion at the mere sound of it. "Have you finally decided to seek out my hand? What a wondrous day~" The owner of the voice swayed out of the darkness wearing a luxurious kimono, the fabric butchered by the long slits cut in the sides, slashed all the way up to her hips, to show off her never-ending pale legs as she walked.

"What I seek is your skill."

She was pure seduction with legs. Her hips rocking back and forth in an unnatural manner as she basically danced up to him, giving soft sounds of pleasure upon seeing him. She stopped at arm's length from the demon lord. She might be a harlot, but she was no fool. "I have many skills." She teased. "You should know this." She flicked a lock of her ink-black hair behind her shoulder with a fanged smile. "Do not be so vague." Her smile grew. "It might sound like you mean other things…" She purred, her eyes dancing with hope. "Unless…?"

His golden irises narrowed towards the demoness. "I have no need for such _lesser_ urges, nor will I subject myself to such acts with an even _lesser_ creature then the urges themselves."

She gave a disappointed sigh. "You break my heart."

"Better to do so and keep my head."

"But I promise we would have so much _fun_." She hummed. "_Before_ I took your head." She gave him a sinister smile. "It would be worth it." She tried to entice him.

"Delay this one no further with your unamusing antics. You will give me what I seek or feel my claws." She is but an insect, which he would squash beneath his heel, but the act wasn't even worth the stain it left behind on his boot. "The only reason you even breathe is because you have proved useful to me a _few_ times. Yet you test my patience?"

The female reached out and flicked one of the many treads that was splayed around the cave. "As you wish, _milord_." She gave another sigh. "I will get started on it right away."

.-

"What do you call this again? Colored ink?" Rin's question spoke up as she lifted up the object she was drawing with and looked at it curiously.

"It's a crayon." Shippo puffed out his chest, proud he knew so much.

"Crayon?" She twirled the red crayon in her hand as she stared at it for moment. "Coloring book?" She picked up her book, which had unicorns and puppies on the cover.

"Yup!" The fox's tail was swaying behind him as he continued to draw. Both he and Rin were lying on their bellies beneath the blue sky. "And these"—He dumped out his box, which held all his drawing tools—"Are _**markers**_!"

"Oooo~" The girl leaned in closer, giving off oohs and aahs. She reached out and took one of them. "What do they do?"

Shippo had a wide grin on his face as he held up one of the markers, and removed the top. It gave a loud 'pop', and Rin's eyes shone with amazement. "Kagome just gave me these, saying I'm big enough for them now." She copied his movements and giggled when her green one did the same thing. "They smell funny, but they work like real colored ink!" He demonstrated for her by coloring on his picture. Rin gave another sound of joy before lowering her marker onto her paper—"Be careful and not to make a mess." Shippo warned her. "Kagome says that it can get on your skin and it's hard to get off." He frowned a little. "She won't let me have any more if I make a mess."

The girl nodded with a hum. "M'kay!"

Kagome watched the exchange with a smile, a book held within her hands, reading calmly as the children played. After a moment, her eyes turned upwards as she looked towards the sky.

She was keeping her senses open, and her eyes trained on spotting a familiar white dot heading their way among the vast blue above them.

.-

Jaken, still in the spot where his master left him, was pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself. He feared for his life, when Lord Sesshomaru returned and found out he had lost the girl that he was given to protect while he left.

The toad gave up the thought of trying to run away, his master would find him no matter where he hid. He had no real options other than to wait for his death. A flash of movement caught his attention and he turned his head. The already green demon turned several more shades of the color in illness as he watched his master approach him, something colorful folded in his hand.

The demon ran up to him, sweating bullets. "L-Lord Sesshomaru!"

Maybe if he can distract him, he will forget about the child altogether?

"Jaken, where is Rin?" His plan failed before he even tried.

The sweat now rolled off of the demon in rivers. He was on his hands and keens, bowing to him. "Please forgive this lowly servant!" The toad began to cry and wail, spilling his guts out, hoping that his truthfulness with make his death swift and painful. "She disappeared milord! I have searched everywhere! She and Ah-un just vanished the moment you left—" His vision became covered in darkness— "I'm blind!" He gave a cry of fear, his eyesight taken from him as punishment for losing the girl during his watch. "I'm so sorry! Please!" He begged, even though he knew that even if he wanted to, he could never get his sight back. He reached up to his face, but then paused when his clawed hand touched soft fabric. When he pulled it away, light invaded his yellow spheres and he flinched at unexpected intrusion. "Huh?" He looked down at the colorful cloth that was in his hand, and he held it out. "Is this another kimono for Rin?" Yet when the toad looked up to question him, his master was already walking away—Without him. "Lord Sesshomaru!" He got to his feet quickly and started to run after him—

His master took off to the sky, the toad unable to follow. Tears swelled in his large bug eyes, feeling abandoned yet again.

But at least he got to keep his head…

.-

Night was upon them. Even so, Kagome was still reading, using her flashlight to give her enough brightness to see the inked words on the page. The chilled air was on her skin, and she shivered. The temperature suddenly dropped, and it felt like ice was inside of her veins. She jumped from the sensation and released a hot breath of air in surprise.

Sesshomaru was here.

She looked up to the sky, and she couldn't see any white dot among the trillions of stars filling the sky. Yet she trusted her instincts, quickly putting her book and flash light away into her backpack. The moment she closed the bag up, she heard the soft sound of fabric rustling behind her and she tensed up.

Before she was able to turn and look behind her, white strolled by her form, not even acknowledging her as he walked towards the sleeping child curled up around the mighty dragon for warmth. She stumbled to her feet and caught up to him, her backpack in her hands almost dragging to the ground.

"She wore herself out playing." She was glad she sent Shippo back to the village when night fell. "I kept a good eye on her." Still, he never answered her, even after they stood beside the sleeping girl. She shifted in her spot in nervousness. "Rin told me what happened." She nibbled on her lip. "It is your right to say and do what you want, since Rin is under your care." She felt his aura wavering, as if he was daring her to question otherwise. "I am not angry about what you did." She quickly said, hoping to appease him.

She sighed when his intense aura shrunk back to its normal state, yet it still felt suffocating to be around. She swallowed in nervousness, her hold on the straps of her backpack tightening. All he was doing was standing there, watching the girl sleep peacefully. She stared at him, gaging his expressions, but like usual, she couldn't pick up anything beyond his usual mask of indifference, and couldn't understand what he was thinking about.

She looked back down at Rin, then at the demon lord, seeing him thinking about something. What about, she could only guess, but maybe-"I told her not to be angry either."

This time, he turned his head to fully look at her. "It matters not, whether a human child is upset with this one." He stated. "She sought you out, and by doing so disobeyed me." His told held a slight edge to it. "She will accept my way of doing things and cease this nonsense. Both her rebellion and sniveling."

"But she **is** human." She reminded him. "You cannot be angry with her if she left to seek comfort with someone of her own kind." She look down at the ground. "Even if it was because of something you did."

He bent down and picked up the girl, his arm looped around her stomach as he lifted her. The dragon responded without being told, and stood up. The demon lord laid the child onto the back of the dragon's large saddle.

Noticing he was getting ready to leave she spoke up. "She enjoyed coloring with Shippo, so I gave her some coloring books and crayons. I put them in the bag on the saddle." The demon turned towards her, and she tried not to flinch at the hardened stare of his golden orbs. "So when you see her pull them out… try not to burn them too?" She fidgeted. "Umm… please?" She added at the end. He didn't respond, and turned on his heel, leaving. Another thought popped into her mind. "Umm!" She exclaimed as she jogged up to him and the dragon. She lifted up the flap in the bag, then began rummaging through the yellow sack. "I forgot to give her some candy-" A clawed hand reached and grabbed her pack, making her freeze. He yanked the pack away from her grasp, leaving her standing there, mouth open like a fish. He had her pack as far away as he could hold it in front of him. "What are you—" His hand started to glow green and she almost cried out in panic. Not her lucky backpack! "No—Please!" She reached out to it, but a hardened gaze from the demon made her stop in her tracks.

He was looking down at her from his nose. "Rin turns insufferable when she digests that human trash you give her."

"Then I won't give her anymore!" She told him. "I swear!" She looked up at him pleadingly. "It's my favorite pack…" It's been through everything with her ever since she came to this world, and it had her school books in them! "Please don't turn it into goop." Her voice lowered softly. He regarded her position for several tense moments, then the green glow around his hand diminished. She gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you—" He tossed the pack away from him, as if expelling the grotesque object from his sight, and it fell several feet away. "Hey~!" She called out in objection and ran over to her pack. When she turned to give him a glare over her shoulder, she was surprised she didn't see him wipe his claws on his clothes, to get rid of the coodies he picked up from touching her vial pack.

A cloud was forming beneath his feet, going to take off into the air. Ah-un was already in the sky, awaiting it's master. "Sesshomaru!" She called out as she stood back up and took a step towards him. He didn't look at her, but he didn't continue to take off either, so she believed he was listening. "Don't punish her too hard." She placed her hand upon her chest. "She is just a child."

She was surprised when she actually got a response. "Hn." If you would call it that.

Then he took off into the sky, and she watched as they both became dots scattered among the stars.

Kagome gave a small sigh and picked up her pack, tossing it over her shoulder. She was glad that he didn't melt her pack or her books—She had a big test she had to take and she couldn't afford to fail it.

The miko from the future took the few steps needed and stood beside the well. She groaned in anticipation for what awaited her on the other side.

"_Rin turns insufferable when she digests that human trash you give her." _ Kagome replayed his last words and she giggled behind her hand.

Guess Sesshomaru can't handle Rin when she gets a sugar-high. The realization of this brightened her mood, and she jumped into the void, the pink magic consuming her.

.-

With a grunt Kagome lifted herself out of the well. When it was achieved, she gave an exhausted sigh and placed her heavily loaded pack by her feet as she sat on the lip of the well. Her shoulders were sagged dejectedly, and a defeated look was upon her face.

She failed her math test…_again_.

She was offered to get a home tutor, but she wasn't sure if that was a wise decision. Then again, a F- was a pretty terrible grade. She will never graduate high school and go to college at this rate. She gave another sigh. She will have to think about it…

There was a whoosh, then a thump in front of her. She lifted her head up and a smile appeared on her face. "Hello Inuyasha."

He gave a huff and nodded in reply, crossing his arms over his chest. "You are back early."

She flashed him a grin. "Are you complaining?"

"Hell no." He snorted. "Just means we can get back to work sooner." He expression fell a little. "But that also means you didn't do so hot on those 'tests' of yours, right?" Seeing his ears droop a little, she couldn't help but smile, happy he was concerned.

"Yeah, but it's alright. I can retake them." She lied.

"I see." He didn't push the subject further, even though he probably knew she was lying. "We better get back to the village. The runts been crying ever since you left." Without having to ask, he bent down and picked up her bag—He froze.

She didn't notice his odd behavior. "I brought him more colors. That should make him happy." She told him as she stood up and began walking. When he didn't follow, she looked over her shoulder at him. She noticed that he had her bag up to his face, his nose twitching. "Something wrong?"

He paused in his sniffing and glanced at her. "Feh." He tossed the heavy sack over his shoulder as if it was as light as a feather. "It's nothing." He then began walking beside her, as they both went to the village together. "Hey." He turned to look at her, his ears perking up. "Did you bring more ramen?"

She giggled at his enthusiasm and nodded. "Of course."

Kagome believed that if there was ever a time she forgotten his precious ramen, he would toss her back into the well and tell her she couldn't come back until she brought some.


	4. Mercy

"I don't see them." Shippo voiced out, anxious.

Kagome couldn't help but laugh at the demon who was sitting upon her shoulder. "Of course not, the trees are in the way." Seeing the child's blush, she laughed again. "They are here. I sensed him."

She was with the group when she felt it, a surge of energy chilling her very core. She could only get a feel of how close it was before it vanished just as quickly. It wasn't until it happened again, five minutes later, that she realized what was going on:

Sesshomaru was calling her.

Though she did not like to lie to her friends, she made up an excuse and took Shippo with her. There was no doubt in her mind the boy wished to see Rin again and play with her. It had been almost a month since their first time meeting. When they were alone, Shippo would ask her if Rin would come and play again, and she would have to reply with 'I'm not sure Shippo'. The lonely and sad look on his face always pained her afterwards.

Other than the village kids, Rin was the only one close to Shippo's age for him to hang out with.

After few minutes walking, the trees cleared out, revealing an open field. It was there, in the center, the proud demon lord stood. Beside him the child seemed very small in stature. "Rin!" Shippo wasted no time and jumped off her shoulder.

"Shippo!" Rin raised her hand and waved as she ran towards him as well, the two excited children meeting in the middle.

Kagome watched the two kids exchange excited words, a ghost of a smile gracing her lips. Minutes passed, and she looked away from the two, her eyes landing on the demon who already got comfortable beneath a tree on the outside of the field.

The miko reached up and shifted the strap of her backpack on her shoulder in nervousness. She glanced at the kids one more time, seeing that they were occupied playing tag with one another. She moved her gaze back to the demon lord.

With her mind made up, she steeled her resolve and began walking towards his resting from, determination in her eyes.

.-

Kagome was sitting beside the powerful demon as the children played in the field. He was an arm's length or so away from her. She kept a fair distance from him since she wasn't sure what his actual 'personal space bubble' was.

For whatever reason, she decided that today would be the day that the great demon lord would talk to her. He can't be a stick in the mud all the time—there must be something beneath that 'I will kill you' glare, and stiff personality of his.

After a moment of uneasiness, she took another peak at the demon from her lashes. It was now or never. Come on, Kagome girl, you can do it.

Kagome cleared her throat. "So…" She glanced towards him out of the corner of her eye. "It's nice and warm today, isn't it?" Once again, her default conversation was the weather. When he of course didn't respond, she looked down at the ground and plucked the grass beneath her.

Someone please, just shoot her now.

"Isn't it hot with all that armor on?" She asked him, curious. But still, he did not take the bait she was offering and started a conversation with her. She had to stop herself from sighing in defeat. Maybe it was a lost cause?

"Kagome!" Hearing her name the miko looked up and spotted Shippo galloping towards her on all fours as fast as he could, a big smile on his face.

She waited until the child reached her, before she spoke up. "Yes Shippo?"

"Can I have my colors?"

She nodded at him then turned towards her pack, which was sitting beside her. "Sure." It didn't take long for her to find the box that had all of the demon fox's tools, and handed him a few coloring books as well. "Here you go."

The fox's smile grew. "Thanks!" With his colors in hand he ran back towards Rin, who was patiently waiting in the middle of the field for him to return.

Her blue irises lingered on the children's form as they drew. Her expression softened when she saw how happy the human girl looked, playing with the demon. "I'm glad that you didn't punish her for coming to me on that day." The words left her mouth without much thought.

She didn't think she would receive a reply, so when his deep voice answered she was more than a little shocked. "Her disobedience did not go unpunished." He informed her. "This one did not allow her to come see you or the fox kit for a full moon cycle, giving her time to reflex on her transgression."

"You…" Kagome allowed the words to sink into her mind for a minute. When his comment finally clicked in her mind what he had done, she couldn't help but allow the feminine giggle to leave her lips.

"Does my choice of punishment amuse you girl?"

Hearing his tone and that he was most certainly not happy by her laughter, she quickly raised her hand to her mouth to try and cover up her giggles—and failing. "Of course not, Lord Sesshomaru." She tried to seem sincere, but the delight dancing in her blue eyes gave her away. "I think it was the right way to go. I just didn't figure you would actually do something like _ground_ her."

Kagome couldn't get the image out of her head: Sesshomaru standing in front of Rin, an 'I am not amused' look on his face as he stared down at her. Then he says "_You are grounded young lady_." She almost went into another fit of giggles on the thought alone.

"This Sesshomaru did not throw her onto the ground."

The miko blinked, then tried to hold back another set of laughs. "I didn't mean it like that." She tried to tell him. "It is just an expression, from where I come from."

The dog demon stared at her, taking in her words. "Hn." Then he turned his head away, no longer concerned, and once again kept his golden gaze upon the children.

Kagome found a smile gracing her features, then she too turned to watch the kids play in the field.

.-

Kagome was currently weaving a crown of flowers in her hand. After the first ten minutes or so of watching the children, she thought about reading a book or doing her homework, but decided against it. She didn't want the demon lord, who was still currently sitting beside her, to get curious and question what she was doing.

She knows that in this world women reading or writing was unheard of. She didn't want him to start asking questions that she was uncomfortable answering at the moment. There was a chance that the demon wouldn't care one way or another what she was doing, or even notice at all, but she didn't want to risk it. So she decided instead to make a crown of flowers, and give it to Rin when she was done.

When she looped the last stem together, she held up her finished work with a smile. "Done~!" She sang out in joy as she felt proud of herself— The sound and small movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she looked over, seeing Sesshomaru now standing.

"Rin." His voice was deep and easily carried over to the children, who were still playing.

There was laughter as Shippo and Rin both ran towards them at full speed. "I win!" Shippo skidded to a halt, almost running into the miko who was still sitting on the grass.

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin smiled up at the demon lord.

"Rin?"

"Yes?" She asked again, still smiling.

"What are those marks upon your face?"

Hearing his words Kagome looked away from her crown and at the two kids. A gasp of surprise left the miko's lips. The child's happy grin just spread even wider. "Markers!"

The miko paled at her words, but the demon just hummed at her answer. "Properly named…"

"Shippo!" Her scolding tone caused the demon to flinch and lower himself, knowing he did something wrong. "I told you not to make a mess!" She grumbled beneath her breath as she turned to her pack and began rummaging through it. "I should have watched you two closer, but I thought you were old enough not to do such a thing." She quickly changed into 'mother' mood, and going straight for the 'I am disappointed in you' speech.

The two children looked down at the ground, now feeling guilty. Yet the picture was rather funny to look at, since their hands and face had different colors, shapes, and squiggles printed on their skin. Finding the alcohol, she huffed. "I know your nose is sensitive, but it's the only way to get it off." She dabbed some of the liquid on a cloth. She started with the demon first, rubbing the rag on his hands, and cleaning the permeant marker off of his pale flesh.

The child didn't persist until she began washing his face. "You're rubbing my face off!" He grumbled, his nose and face scrunched up as he tried to hold his breath from the strong odor.

"It's your own fault. I told you not to get it on you because it's hard to get off." At this point, his face was now red from all the scrubbing, but at least the colorful ink was gone. "Okay Rin, it's your turn." She turned away from Shippo, and to the girl.

"M'kay…" The girl, seeing the harsh way it was removed from Shippo, reluctantly walked up to her to receive the same treatment to remove the blemishes. She held out her hands, and she removed it easily enough, then came the girls face. As she raised the rag, the child's face already scrunched up in anticipation and Kagome couldn't help but laugh.

Like Shippo, Rin had to put up with the rough washing, but she was able to get it all off of the child's skin. "Let that be a lesson to you both." She warned them as she put the rag and alcohol away, standing up.

"**Yes, Kagome."** They both said at the same time.

"Does that mean I can't have any more markers?" Shippo asked, a sad look in his eyes.

"I don't know." She told him, unsure. "We will have to see." The demon shifted his feet in sadness, but didn't object to her punishment.

"Rin." Sesshomaru called to his ward, causing them to all look towards him. "We are leaving."

"M'kay." Rin nodded.

"Oh, wait." Her words caused the girl to pause and tilted her head at her. Kagome reached down and picked up the crown she had been working on. "This is for you." The girl's eyes lit up with delight upon seeing the flowers.

"It's beautiful!" Rin commented when Kagome placed the crown upon her head. "Thank you!"

Kagome laughed. "You're welcome."

"I wish I can make you one."

"You will." She encouraged her. "You just have to keep practicing." She told her. "I'm sure the one you make for me will be even prettier."

Her words caused a blush to appear on the girls face, and she nodded, her smile brightening. "Bye Kagome! Bye Shippo!" She waved to them, before catching up to the demon lord who was already heading to the tree line.

They both waved back smiling.** "Bye Rin."**

Kagome called to the demon as they continued to walk away. "Goodbye, Lord Sesshomaru." Of course, she never received a reply from him.

"Come and play again soon!" Shippo shouted, his tail twitching behind him.

Rin turned and waved again as she walked backwards. "I will!" She promised.

Kagome smiled, feeling happy that the two got along so well with one another. "Come on Shippo." She caught his attention. "The others are probably starting to worry."

"Alright." He nodded.

They both gathered their things, and went back to camp.

.-

Kagome leaned back against her tree in the shade and huffed. "It's kind of hot today. I still don't see how you deal with this heat in that amour of yours." She glanced over at the demon lord who was beside her, as if the heat didn't bother him. When she didn't get any response from him, she wasn't surprised. "I'm glad you two came to visit so soon." She told him as she watched the children playing. "Shippo is too." She added as an afterthought.

When she felt his familiar aura in the air, she was taken off guard. It had only been two weeks since their last visit. Had Rin pestered him and asked to come and visit early? He didn't look mad, so maybe not.

"So hot~" She could feel the trickle of sweat start to roll down her face and she reached up, wiping it away with her sleeve in a huff.

"I do not understand your complaints, considering you wear such small amount of clothing."

She felt heat rush into her cheeks at his words. "Just because I show some skin, doesn't mean I can't get hot under 90 degree weather." The demon sent her a look, thinking otherwise. She opened her mouth to speak her mind, but luckily her brain caught up with her flapping jaws in time to save herself. She had almost forgotten who she was talking to: Sesshomaru.

He wasn't Inuyasha, who she can say and do whatever she wanted and banter with. No, this demon would kill her if she spoke the wrong thing and he believed she was humiliating him in anyway. In fact, she was surprised he even allowed her to sit with him while the children were playing.

Believing she has risked her life enough for one day, she decided to take out her bow and arrows and examine them. The rest of the evening she fixed and sharpened her arrows, checking her bow for signs of stress. She had been meaning to do so earlier, but she hasn't had the time to. She really should do so more often, for it would mean the difference between life and death, should something happen to her only weapon during battle.

"Rin." Kagome paused and looked up at the demon who was standing, calling to his ward.

The miko looked up to the sky, and was surprised to see how much time had passed while she was tending to her weapons. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin was smiling up at him, Shippo standing beside her. They both had markers printed all over their faces again, except this time, it looked like they were getting more artistic about it. Shippo was a flower of some kind, while Rin was-

She flashed him a wide smile in joy. "I'm a cat!" The demon lord didn't even bother to respond to the statement. He just stared at the girl for a moment, then turned his head to look into Kagome's blue pools.

"Don't worry." She smiled at him. "It's washable." She told him with a wave of her hand as if it was no big deal. "Just take her to the river and it will wash away with water this time."

He nodded his head and then turned and began walking away. Rin gave a small pout, but she didn't object and turned towards the two with a smile. "I'll see you guys later!"

Kagome and Shippo both waved goodbye as the two left the field. "When do you think they will be back?" Shippo didn't even wait a few seconds before the question came out of his mouth as he looked at her.

The miko laughed. "Already missing her?" She only laughed harder when the boy's face flushed with color. "I'm sure they will return when they have time."

She doubted it would be soon. Sesshomaru was a busy demon after all…

.-

"Roar!" Shippo popped out of the tall grass, holding up a picture that Rin and him drew together: A red dragon. "I am the Dragon King! King of the dragons!" The fox used his magic, and placed his hand behind the picture. Flames came out of the side of the picture, where the dragon's mouth was, making it look like the dragon was breathing fire.

"Oh no!" Rin placed her hands on either side of her face.

"Imma eat chu!" Shippo waved the picture back and forth, then he took off running towards the girl. Rin then gave a fake scream, then started laughing as Shippo chased her around the field with the picture.

Kagome couldn't help but allow a smile to cross her features at the cute image. She then turned her head to the sky and almost sighed in relief. "The sun isn't so hot today." It has started to cool down. Fall will be upon them in another month.

Meeting Sesshomaru and Rin had become a regular occurrence anymore. While the children played, Kagome would talk about the weather, then trail off and not speak anymore when she never got a response. Then she would entertain herself, or just sit and watch the children until Sesshomaru decided it was time to leave.

Kagome glanced at the demon beside her. He seems to have changed from the cold killing monster she remembers when she first met him and he wished to take Tessaiga away from Inuyasha. Maybe he isn't so bad after all?

"Your staring is tiresome girl, remove it." Then again…

She gave an unladylike snort through her nose, and placed her hands up on her hips. "You know what Sesshomaru? You—"

"Kagome!" The miko's rant was stopped before it even began and she looked towards who was calling her. Shippo was headed towards her at full speed, his paper hat almost falling off of his head, and he had to hold on to it. In his other paw was a paper sword. When he reached her, he didn't waste any time and grabbed her hand, tugging on it. "We need a virgin princess to rescue from the dragon!"

"A—what?" Kagome pointed to herself—

She heard a sound, it was small, and if she had to guess she would have thought it was a snort coming from the proud demon lord beside her. "The unclothed miko can't even pretend to be such a thing."

Blood rushed into her cheeks at his comment. She turned towards him in a huff. "I'll have you know I haven't even-…" She quickly stopped herself and placed her hand over her lips before she even finished her words. Her blush intensified when the demon lord raised a single eyebrow towards her. She cleared her throat and put her attention back towards the fox. "Shippo, do you even know what that means?"

The demon child blinked up at her with such innocence she almost cried. "No?" He pouted. "Miroku told me that's what dragon's eat. Why? Is it important?"

Dang it Miroku…

She opened her mouth to tell him, but then her entire face became flushed. "I will tell you when you get older."

Shippo shrugged. "Should I ask Miroku?"

"No!" She quickly became flustered at the stares from the two demons then she cleared her throat. "N-no." She spoke softer. "Don't ask him anything. Just forget it."

He gave a small shrug. "Okay." He then began tugging on her hand again and she sighed, allowing herself to be dragged to the centre of the field. "I got the virgin princess!" Shippo shouted loudly so Rin could hear across the field.

"Yay!" The young child giving a shout of joy as she held up her paper sword. Kagome's blush returned full force as she raised her hand to her face to try and cover up her embracement.

She then plopped down onto the ground so that she was level with the children. Rin placed a crown of flowers upon her head- **"Virgin! Virgin! Virgin!"** The two circled around the miko chanting. Kagome released a groan as her entire body felt like it was on fire as she sat there.

"Here Kagome. Hold the Dragon King. You are his prisoner now." Shippo handed her the picture.

Kagome glanced at the demon lord who was sitting across the field— He had the same indifferent look upon his face, but she could just _tell_ that he was mocking her behind that façade of his.

She raised the picture up and used it to cover her reddened face with another groan, as the children around her continued their charade, trying to rescue the virgin princess from the clutches of the Dragon King…

.-

"Sorry we didn't save you in time and you got eaten Kagome." Rin's voice and expression looked truly guilt-ridden as she spoke those words, as if the act was real. Rin and Sesshomaru were departing, and the child was speaking her last words of goodbye, yet she felt guilty over the outcome of the pretend story her and Shippo did.

"It is okay Rin." Kagome bent down so she was eye level with her. "You rescued the village, remember?" The girl nodded and Kagome smiled. "The lives of many, outweigh the lives of one."

"Hn." The sound of agreement came from the tall demon standing beside her.

Rin still felt bad, so the child looked up at her with determination in her eyes. "I'll save you next time."

Kagome couldn't help but laugh and she reached out, ruffling the child's hair in praise. "I know you will." The child flashed her a large smile, and Kagome returned it with a smile of her own.

"Come, Rin." And with the familiar command, the two left the field.

.-

Shippo popped out of the grass, holding his sword in the air. "The Dragon King has returned!"

"Quick! We must save the virgin princess!" Rin jumped up, copying Shippo's body movements.

The virgin princess gave a squawk of disgust, the yellow wig placed upon his head shifting in his sudden movement. "Do you two even know what that means!" Jaken waved his staff in the air in disapproval, but the children ignored him, running around the imp while chanting 'virgin virgin virgin.'

"Come Rin—We ride!" Shippo and Rin both got on top of Ah-Un, continuing their quest to save Jaken from the dragon.

The whole time, Kagome couldn't stop the laughter that spilled from her lips at the scene. "Well, Jaken should be happy that he isn't playing the role of the monster this time and being hit with the swords like usual."

She received the normal reply of "Hn."

Sometimes Sesshomaru would bring Jaken and Ah-Un. When he did, the toad was the subject of the two children's games, casting the demon as the evil beast that must be slain. She would feel bad for the toad at times, but then the imp would say something mean, making her think otherwise. If he got too rowdy, a small rock coming out of nowhere would hit the green toad and she would try not to laugh as she glanced at the demon lord beside her, wondering where he stashed the pebbles at.

After her fits of laughter finally went away, she watched the children play with a light heart. After a while, she turned her gaze to the demon sitting beside her, and her thoughts began to wander.

Spending so much time with Sesshomaru, she has almost forgotten that he was a powerful demon who could easily kill everyone in this field in a blink of an eye. A few months ago, she would have believed he could have done such a thing and had no remorse over it—But now? She thinks that the demon cared deeply for Rin, and would do anything to protect her. Whether he knew it or not, she wasn't sure.

Kagome might not have been able to strike up a conversation with the lord yet, but she could see the change in him from when they first met, back in when Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were fighting over their father's fang. He has changed, she can see it. Rin has changed him. It was a good change.

"You know Sesshomaru, you are not as cold-hearted as you pretend to be." Kagome once again had a one-sided conversation while sitting beside the demon. "Inuyasha is the same way. He always acts tough, but he is actually very kind."

The only warning she received with the icy chill of his aura flaring before she felt a heated touch upon her neck. "Do not mistake my **mercy** for _kindness_." She flinched from the pain, and she found herself staring into molten gold. His hold on her neck tightened, causing her to hiss.

She reached up and placed her hands upon his wrists, but he didn't budge. "Sesshomaru-!" His name barely wheezed out as she tried to gasp for air.

"I have put up with your presence long enough. I grow tired of this." Tears started to form in her eyes when his grip became even stronger, and her vision started to go black.

Her heart began to pound in her ears, and her body started to tremble. She knew that he was serious. Her life was in danger, and she couldn't stop him. She opened her mouth, her lungs burning, needing air, but she couldn't breathe. Panic started to swirl in her mind with each desperate gasp that yielded no oxygen.

She glanced over at the children, who were still playing, unaware of what was going on at the end of the field. "R-Rin." The single word escaped her crushing throat in desperation. He tried to remind of him the child. He couldn't kill her. Rin cared about her—She would be sad if she died.

"She is young, she will get over the loss quickly enough." He spoke as if he was referring to a pet goldfish which had to be flushed down the toilet, instead of a human being.

Her vision was darker, and her head was becoming light. She raised her hands to his chest, trying to call forth her powers, yet without an object to channel it into, it never came forth. In that moment she began to regret. Regret that she had been deceived into ever thinking that Sesshomaru was anything but a killer. She wished that she trained more—Wished that she just kept her big mouth shut. As she felt her body becoming limp, her arms falling to her side, unable to hold them up any longer, all hope of surviving began to dwindle. She wished…

"I-Inuyasha." The name barely slipped out.

"My brother?" Yet with his fine senses, he heard it. "He cannot save you. He can't defeat me, even as revenge for your death." Pain pierced her heart at his words, because the fact was, she knew it to be true.

His vice grip tightened, and she felt the pinch of his claws upon her flesh, the feeling barely registering beyond the haze of dizziness and pain that washed over her. Then she felt a shock course through her, her energy coming forth. There was a sizzle, and a light beyond the blackness of her vision. Pink lightening danced across Sesshomaru's claws and hand, crawling up his arm. The attack was sudden and it caught the demon lord off guard. In reaction he released his hold and she gasped for air.

As she coughed, her vision began returning, but the dizziness was still upon her. Her body swayed as she placed her hand upon the ground to study herself. She glanced at the demon, seeing him staring at his hand in puzzlement. He was testing out his hand, as if perplexed and unsure. He then lifted his gaze, his golden irises met her blue ones. In that moment she realized: He was really going to kill her.

She shivered as a wave of fear pooled in her stomach and she scooted away from him—Her back hit the tree behind her and her eyes widened.

He took a step towards her—

"Kagome!" She jumped at the sound of her name and she saw Shippo and Rin running towards her, still riding Ah-Un. "You alright?" The demon questioned once they reached her. "I thought I smelt your blood…" Shippo jumped off of the dragon and walked up to her—His eyes widened when he saw her and she reached up, covering her throat with her hand. She could feel the warm liquid against her fingers. "I'm fine. I just… stabbed myself with my pen."

Shippo gave her an odd look. "In your neck?"

She tried not to mumble beneath her breath, knowing she wasn't the best liar in the world. "Yeah." She subconsciously glanced out of the corner of her eye, at the tall demon who still stood beside her. Shippo easily noticed her movements, and he followed her gaze. The child's eyes narrowed at the demon, giving him a questioning look.

"Come Rin, Jaken." He turned on his heels. "We are leaving."

"Aww…" Rin gave a small nose of persisting, but the dragon was already following behind his master, the yellow wig wearing toad wobbling behind as well. "I'll see you guys later!" Rin waved to them over her shoulder.

"Bye Rin!" Shippo gave the girl a smile and waved back, but once they were gone into the shadows, he turned back towards Kagome. "Are you really okay?" He was now sitting upon her lap, looking into her eyes.

"I—I'm fine." She told him. "I was just caught off guard is all…" She looked down at the ground, knowing it was her own fault. She let her guard down.

She should have known better…

.-

The group was traveling, headed back towards the Kaede's village. They had been walking for two days now, and they were almost at the village. They would be arriving within the hour.

"Kagome?" The famine voice called out to her.

Kagome waited for Sango go walk beside her, until she spoke. "Yes?"

"Do you know why Inuyasha suddenly demanded that we turn back?" She asked.

"I—I don't know." She shook her head.

"Did something happen while you and Shippo were out gathering berries?"

The miko reached up and touched her neck, which was wrapped all the way around in a white bandage. "I told you before that I fell and scratched myself on a branch." Just when she thought she couldn't think of an even more ridiculous lie. But at least she thought of something better then stabbing herself in the neck.

"Well, if you're sure…" Sango didn't push it any further, but she kept a watchful eye on her.

Kagome felt bad about lying to everyone, but she didn't really want to explain herself. After she got back from the field, Inuyasha began questioning the bandage around her neck and she told him she cut herself on a branch. She hoped the lie worked, but only seemed to make Inuyasha madder, and he told them that they were going back to Kaede's.

"Hey." A gruff voice broke her thoughts and she almost jumped. "Can I talk to Kagome alone for a minute?" Inuyasha turned toward Sango, and the demon hunter nodded her head. Kagome and Inuyasha walked in silence for a few minutes behind the rest of the group. Unable to take the tension anymore, the dog demon spoke first. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "Fine."

His ears gave a small twitch. "Keh." He turned his gaze away from her, and they once again was in silence. Every now and then he would sneak a peek at her, but then he would turn from her again.

She gave an irritated sigh and finally addressed the issue. "You wanted to talk to me Inuyasha. What is it?"

He flinched at her words, then he shifted in his spot. She could feel his temper flaring for a minute, then he collected himself and shrugged. "What happened while you were away at camp?" She gave him odd look, and opened her mouth to reply, but then he cut her off. "And don't give me none of that bull about tripping and falling either." Shock was on her face as she stared into his intense amber orbs. "Don't lie to me."

She abused her lower lip with her teeth as guilt hit her stomach. She fiddled with the ends of her sleeves and looked away from him. She didn't want to lie to him, or the others. But she didn't want to worry them either. She was unsure of what to do, so she stuck with the plan—"A branch hit me—"

"Bullshit!" His shout of anger caused her to jump, and he reached out, grabbing her arm. The sudden anger caught the attention of the others, and they too stopped walking. "You didn't just fall, and a branch wrapped around her throat and cut you!" He reached out and with one quick swipe, the bandage was shredded. Kagome let out a gasp when the air hit her throat. She reached up to quickly cover it, but he held her wrist. The dark bruise was now clearly visible, along with the dried blood from the small cuts. "A branch that was conveniently shaped like a hand, and dug claw-like punchers into your throat!" He snarled. "Now give me the fucking truth Kagome! What the fuck happened!"

Her lip began to tremble, no words coming out as she looked up at him. Guilt hit her hard as she stared into his eyes, and she looked away, unable to take his heated gaze. "I… can't."

Inuyasha snorted in disappointment and he released his hold on her wrists. "I know it was Sesshomaru." His words caused her eyes to widen and her head whipped back towards him in surprise. "I'm not stupid Kagome. I know every time you went with the runt, you were meeting him." He confessed. "I waited, thinking you would tell me sooner or later about it, and I believed you knew what you were doing. You would come to me if something happened." Hidden beneath his rage was hurt and guilt.

"Kagome?" Sango's voice spoke up amidst the tension. "Is this true?"

The miko glanced over to her friends, who were all watching with worry in their eyes. She didn't have to say it, for Shippo spoke up. "It's true."

Inuyasha growled, his knuckles clinching at his sides. "The bastard..." The rumble in his chest intensified. "I'll kill him."

"I'm sorry…" The whisper barely left her lips. "He saved your life, and I just thought that he couldn't be all bad…"

"You idiot!" His shout caused her to jump. "He wouldn't think twice about killing you! Stupid!" He held both his hands in the air, as if saying 'whatever' "But you know what? Maybe I am wrong? Maybe he is actually a nice guy! Yeah~! Like he hasn't already tried to kill you before—Pshhtt." He waved the thought away as if it didn't exist. "Maybe Naraku is a nice guy too! He just confused. If we all became friends we can be just fine! In fact, trying to fucking _**kill**_ you is the initiation into our friendship circle!"

Her guilt was replaced with anger. "I know I made a mistake! You don't have to be such an ass about it!"

"No! This needs to be dealt with now!" He pointed his finger at the ground. "You are not going to see him anymore!"

"You know I can't just do that!" She argued. "He saved your life! We owe him!"

"I don't give a fuck!"

"You know what? I don't care what you say either!" She shouted back.

"Don't argue with me Kagome about this shit!"

"I can argue with you all I want to!" She huffed.

"Fine then, be that way, but I am not going to let you go home until you agree to never see him again!"

Her rage was boiling over at his words. "How dare you! You can't tell me what to do! I can go home anytime I want!" She turned to her friends, and they all flinched when her gaze locked onto theirs. "Sango? Can I borrow Kirara?" They were just an hour away from the village, but she couldn't wait that long.

"Umm…" Sango looked at the cat upon her shoulder, as if asking for permission. It gave a soft mew. "Sure—"

"No you don't!" Inuyasha got in front of her and growled. "I said that you wasn't going to go home!"

"I don't care what you say! I'm going!" She growled. "Sit!" With a harsh thud the demon hit the dirt, the sound of muffled curses left his mouth. She easily walked by his downed from and retrieved the demon cat from the exterminator. "Thank you."

"You're welcome…"

With a mew, the cat transformed in a burst of flames, and the miko was off into the sky, mumbling coherent things to herself as she headed home. After a few more seconds, the half-demon removed his face from the ground.

With a huff his shook the dirt off of his body and he sighed. "Did she go?"

"Yeah." Sango nodded.

"Inuyasha…" Miroku approached his companion as the dog still continued to brush off the dirt that clung onto his clothes "We was headed towards Kaede's anyway. Was getting Kagome home your intention from the beginning?"

Inuyasha scratched the back of his head and sighed. "She was upset. When she gets like that, she won't listen. If I told her to go home, she would have stayed. I didn't want to yell at her, but she needed to go home." He confessed. "I'm not good at that touchy feely shit. That is what a mom is for, isn't it?"

The monk reached up and patted his friend on the shoulder in praise. "That was very mature of you."

Inuyasha just turned his head away with a snort. "Feh."

.-

After the incident with the scantily dressed girl, something strange began to happen to the demon. At first Sesshomaru denied his thoughts, but by the third day of their pestering, the demon lord was forced to admit the odd and rare feeling he had been experiencing: Curiosity.

Sesshomaru looked at his hand, flexing it to test his strength. He was not physically wounded, but he could still remember the sheer power of the attack that was place upon his person that evening.

When his claws nicked the girls skin, drawing blood, her powers reacted instinctually and lashed out at him. It was so sudden, the power—The purity from it, was indescribable. The pain was like nothing he had experienced in his long life, even when his half-brother severed his arm. He had to admit that it actually _hurt_.

When it hit him, he instantly recoiled from it, releasing the girl. When he did, the pain vanished. There was no harm, except to his pride. A small _human_ female caused _him_ to retreat. It was degrading, and at first he didn't believe it, but the lingering tingle still affected his hand, telling him that it was not his imagination, and what just occurred was real.

This girl—no, this miko- He had to correct himself, for even though she did not look the part, she was still of holy power. She actually caused him pain.

What was that power? Where did it come from?

So lost in thought, Sesshomaru didn't realize his own actions until Rin's voice caught his attention. "Are you going somewhere Lord Sesshomaru?"

The demon lord looked down at the child from his high perch upon his cloud. He glanced around, then spotted his servant beside Ah-un. When he locked his golden orbs upon the imp, the green toad gave a small sound then his body became stiff, but he understood the meaning clearly enough.

"I will guard her my lord!" Jaken squawked.

"Hn." The demon then turned and continued his flight into the sky.

.-

He followed his brother's pack scent from above. When he realized which direction he was headed, it wasn't hard to figure out where they were going. He landed a good distance away from the village, inside the aggravating forest he had the _great_ pleasure of memorizing top to bottom in the days he had been there. He calmly walked to the village, where the human stench was almost unbearable, even from this distance.

The wind shifted, and the demon lord halted in his stride when a sweet fragrance caught his attention. This scent…

He turned around and followed the smell, leading away from the village. It wasn't long until he found himself in an open field. He scanned the area, but did not find what he was looking for: The source of the sickening-sweet scent.

He entered the field, walking towards the only object worth investigating, an old well. He peered inside, yet nothing was there, leaving him puzzled. The scent radiated from the well like the plague, yet the girl was not here. She must come here often, the area reeked of her scent, but the real question was: Why?

There was only a well here, why bother coming here at all? What was the importance of this place?

It was such a strong smell, lingering for days. She practically marked it as her territory with the sweet odor. A smell, which he could not place a resemblance to anything he has ever scented before, was a sweet tang that left a taste upon his tongue whenever he inhaled too deeply. It was insufferable whenever she would sit close to him, subjecting him to her odd stench.

Judging by her lasting aroma around the area, even though she wasn't present at the moment, she will sooner or later come back. All he had to do was wait here, and he wouldn't have to force himself to walking to the village of humans to retrieve the female. Then again, he was not one that waited for another for any reason…

He turned away from the well, and looked towards the direction of the village. It was close enough that if he spread out his demonic aura, she would be able to sense him. Just as he was about to do so, he stopped when he noticed something. Another scent mingled with the girl's. The bitterness clashed horribly with the sweetness of the females, and he couldn't help but raise his nose to the familiar odor.

"_Little_ Brother." He greeted with coldness as he turned towards the tree line.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha all but growled out as he jumped from the branch in a red blur, landing a few feet away from him. "You better heave a damn good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." His clawed hand reached for the hilt of his blade.

The demon almost scoffed. "Do not make idle threats that you cannot deliver."

"You think I can't kill you?" The grip on his sword tightened, but he still did not unsheathe it. "Wanna bet your life on it?"

"Do you wish to risk your own life?" He repeated the question back at him. "When you die this time, I cannot revive you." He warned.

His brother snorted. "Feh! I don't give a fuck if you did save my life! I didn't ask you too!"

"No, but your female did." He purposely tried to find a way to push his half-brother's buttons, making him angrier. "She approached this Sesshomaru, _begging_—"

A flash of metal was the only warning, but Sesshomaru easily dodged the sword's swing with a side step. "Still, you swing your sword with no real thought behind it. Pitiful."

Inuyasha snarled, bring his sword downward. "Shut up!" He gracefully dodged the barbaric moves, and watched as his father's fang hit the ground, burying itself into the dirt. "Damnit! Hold still! I'm going to cut off your other arm!"

His brother's words caused his golden eyes to narrow towards him, his lips curling ever so slightly. His hand reached for his blade, and he pulled out Tokijin. The sound of metal hitting metal rang out as the brother's clashed in the field.

His brother was grinning ear to ear as he pushed against his blade, both swords at a standstill. "Hit a nerve, did I?"

"Hold your tongue, least I remove it for you."

Inuyasha snorted, pushing harder against his brother's sword, creating sparks from the friction, but he didn't budge. "Stay away from Kagome."

Unable to stand the closeness anymore, his brother's bitter scent causing his nose to sting from the stench. He easily overpowered his brother and pushed him aside. Instead of falling to the ground, Inuyasha just jumped back with a growl.

He looked down at his brother from his nose. "What makes you think I seek your female?"

He slashed the air with his sword. "I don't know _why_, but I don't care. It stops now."

"You commanding me, _brother_?" His tone became venom on the last word.

"I am stating fact, _brother_." Inuyasha returned with just as much hate. "She is not going to see you anymore. I will make sure of that."

"Believe what you will, but when this one seeks out the miko for the debt that is owed, on your behalf"—The demon lord almost smirked when he saw the guilty look flash across his brother's face—"I will have my favor." He sheathed his blade. "It is amusing that you truly believe you can stop me from getting what I want."

This time it was his brother's turn to smirk, which caused the demon to raise an eyebrow in question at his reaction. "Oh." He held up his blade, looking at it with a sly grin. "Haven't I already done so before?" Hinting rather heavily.

Sesshomaru's nose crinkled for a moment, as if his comment caused a foul odor to repel his senses. He turned away from his brother, showing his back to him without worry. "You have the fang because of this simple fact: I no longer want it."

Having the last word he summoned his could and took off into the air, back towards his group. He can seek out the miko and question her another time. His brother's stench and foul manners were try his patience for the day.

.-

Kagome sighed when she lifted herself off the edge of the well, greeted by the sun's bright rays upon her flesh. She took a deep breath of the fresh air as she shifted the yellow monstrosity on her back and started walking to the village. After a few steps the miko paused and looked at the upturned earth beside her. She tilted her head as she looked at the wound upon the ground.

It looked like deep gash, like someone or something attacked and missed. She glanced around when worry started to settle into her bosom. She then noticed smaller damages around the area and her fear spiked—

"Kagome!" Her name being shouted snapped her out of her daze and she looked just in time to see Inuyasha land in front of her.

"Inuyasha." Her worried look quickly washed away upon seeing his uninjured body. "What happened here?" She looked around— The heavy weight upon her shoulders vanished and she blinked in surprise. He hoisted her pack on his shoulder with little effort.

He gave a small shrug in reply. "Just a stupid demon I had to chase off."

"Ah." She nodded her head and smiled at him.

A light blush entered his cheeks and he turned away from her. "Come on, the others are waiting."

He began walking and Kagome quickly kept in step with him as they went through the forest. They walked in silence for a little while, and the miko was enjoying the sounds of nature around her.

"Kagome?" She hummed in reply. "Are you okay now?"

The concern in his voice caused a soft smile to adorn her face. "I failed my test again." She admitted. "I might have to end up getting an afterschool tutor…" She looked up at the sky and sighed.

"That is not what I was talking about." His gruffness caused her to giggle. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and smiled, teasing him. "Feh." He snorted, causing her to laugh again. "Kagome?" He turned to face her, a serious look on his face. "Promise me you won't see him again."

The miko began nibbling on her lower lip as she turned her eyes away from him and off to the side. "I owe him—"

"_**I**_ owe him." Inuyasha corrected. "You don't owe him anything." He told her. "Let me settle my own debt."

"But I'm the one who asked him for help."

His eyebrows angled downward and he frowned. "He save me, not you." He snorted through his nose. "It is my responsibly, not yours." He took it upon himself. "If my idiot brother wants something… I guess I could help him." He turned his head away from her, his cheeks stained red. He then mumbled under his breath. "For your sake…"

She felt her own rush of embarrassment at his words, finding her face suddenly heated up. "Inuyasha…"

"Now don't get all mushy with me." He gave an animal-like growl. "You are not going to see him anymore." He stated more then asked. "You have no need to." A look of guilt flashed across his face. "What happened—It shouldn't have." He told her. "I don't want to see you get hurt again—I won't let him hurt you."

His guilt was strong, radiating off of him and into her own body, making her feel just as guilty. "Inuyasha, I'm sorry." She apologized. "I'm sorry for not telling you about my meetings with your brother."

"Feh." He flashed her a fanged smile. "Don't sweat it." He told her. "Just don't hold a secret like that from me again, okay? How am I supposed to protect you, if you don't trust me?"

Another heavy weight of guilt hit her chest, and she looked down. "Yeah…" She reached up and touched her bicep with nervousness and she sighed. "I promise I won't." She told him. Her blue orbs kept focus on the ground, the urge to bite her lip becoming unsettling. "And I… I promise I won't go see him again either."

There was a small huff of approval from the male beside her. She looked up, only to see him crouching in front of her, her bag in his hands so there was room on his back. "Hop on." He flashed her another grin from over his shoulder and she smiled at him.

She didn't hesitate as she climbed upon his strong back and got into positon, her body all too familiar with the movement that she could do so in her sleep. The next thing she knew, the trees and shrubbery were fly by in a blur as the demon ran through the woods. His silver hair swayed behind him in the fact rush of wind, mingling together with her rave locks.

"Inuyasha?" She called out to him, peeking her head out from behind his shoulder. He gave a hum in reply. "How did you know?" She leaned forward as the question came out. "That I was meeting with Sesshomaru?" She added, just in case he didn't know what she was referring to.

"His scent." He answered, turning his head so he could look at her with a single amber orb. "It was on your bag."

She lowered herself back once again as her shoulders sagged. Her gaze fell slightly, the grip on his shoulders loosening just a little as her eyes clouded over in thought. "I see…"

.-

A couple of weeks later, the gang was sitting around a campfire, the last light of the sun leaving the horizon. It will be dark within the hour. They haven't found any shards yet, or even a rumor, but Inuyasha didn't seem that upset about it, which caused a sense of ease to encircle the group in their search.

"Maybe he has been brainwashed?" Sango suggested as she leaned in towards the miko. Kagome gave a small laugh behind her hand.

A voice called out. "What if that isn't really Inuyasha?"

Kagome back at the fox who was perched upon her shoulder, and questioned him. "What do you mean?"

"What if he is Naraku in disguise?" Shippo spoke up, seriously worried.

The trio grouped together as they all stared at the half-demon sitting on the other side of the fire. He had his eyes closed, his back leaning against the bark of the tree, his sword resting against his shoulder. After a few minutes of their intense stares, a tick of annoyance appeared above his brow and he growled, his ears twitching. "What are you staring at?" He snapped his eyes open and gave them a heated glare.

They all jumped back in surprise, and stammered. They looked at each other, then Kagome just laughed and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Nothing…"

"Keh." He gave another growl and closed his eyes again with a huff.

Shippo leaned towards the girls once more. "Yup." He nodded. "Definitely Naraku." He held out his top. "Maybe we should hit him?" A playful grin was on the foxes face. "You know, just to make sure."

Kagome tried to stop the giggles, and placed her hand in front of her lips—A chilled jolt went straight through her, and she let out a small gasp in surprise. The sound caught everyone's attention and they all became tense.

"Kagome?" Sango spoke first, her hand reaching towards her boomerang. "Is it a shard?"

"S-shard?" Kagome repeated, then shook her head. She glanced over at Inuyasha, and when their eyes met, she couldn't cold the gaze long and lowered hers to the ground. "No. It's nothing." Everyone then relaxed at her words and went back to their previous positions.

"Are you cold, Kagome?" Shippo asked, still on her shoulder. "You're shivering."

"No." Then it happened again, and Kagome clinched her hands into fists to stop herself from shivering. "I just umm… going to feed the fire." She got to her feet, when she did so, Shippo hopped off her shoulder and onto the ground without a sound.

She gathered the wood, piling it up onto the already blazing flame, the chill upon her frame not going away. It pulsed a third time, hitting her with a heavy force, then dissipating. As she kneeled by the fire, she glanced in the direction of where she could sense it. Then her blue irises landed in Miroku's direction, gaging his reaction. He hasn't changed or even hinted at anything. He could not sense it.

It hit strong, but was gone just as quickly. Truth is, it might not be strong at all, but just a mere fraction of his power. Even so, she was rather troubled with the fact that her powers were so in tune with his. Recognized him so easily, that even a smidgen of strength sent her senses in a whirl, picking it up instantly when even Miroku could not.

After the fifth pulse, it finally stopped, and she sighed in relief, the strong aura no longer effecting her. Her body no longer cold as ice, she stood back on her feet and went to her things, going to prepare dinner for everyone.

Minutes had passed, and everyone was now sitting around the warm fire, eating their meals. Kagome placed the hot noodles into her mouth, slurping with glee. She tried not to laugh at Inuyasha, whose slurping was the loudest of them all, filling his mouth greedily, then swallowing without even bothering to chew.

Using her chopsticks she pulled up another string of the steaming noodles and ate them—She froze, the food mere clinometers from her mouth. She closed her eyes and shivered. She exhaled, and when she did, she half expected the cold ice of her breath to be upon her lips. She shivered when another hit came and went. She looked down at the ground as she lowered her food back into its bowl. She had to bit her lower lip to stop her teeth from chattering.

He was being rather aggressive—She shivered again when another wave brushed against her senses. She wished he would just stop. The grip on her chopsticks tightened. It was starting to really annoy her now. When another pulse hit, she sighed in defeat and let go of her eating utensils.

She thought for sure that she would never see him again. Why was he here? What did he want with her? The questions continued in her mind, even though she knew she was entering dangerous grounds by doing so. What if something was wrong? What if he needed her?

With that thought, she didn't hesitate. She placed the bowl down onto the ground beside her and stood up. She began walking in the direction of the pull. She passed the campfire, her eyes straight ahead as she moved forwards—

A grip on her wrist caused her to pause. She looked down, seeing serious amber staring back at her. In his hand was his bowl of ramen, in the other, he griped her wrist firmly but gentle, and being careful of his claw.

She opened her mouth, to tell him that she was just going for a walk. She will be right back. She will be fine and not to worry. But she knew anything that came out would be nothing but a lie, so the words caught in her throat and couldn't escape.

Then his expression turned solemn, almost heartbreaking. "Don't go." The whispered words slipped out, and she almost cried at the plea. He didn't command her. He didn't even bring up her promise, using it against her. He just asked for her to not go… It was very out of character for him.

As she stood before him, she believed that even if she went, Inuyasha wouldn't get mad over her choice. He might be a little hurt, but he wouldn't get mad. Had he not done the same thing as well? Maybe that is why he was acting so different. Was it guilt, over the fact that he would do the same thing whenever Kikyo was near? She was not sure, but by looking at him as he sat there, waiting for her decision, she didn't think that was the reason at all.

In that moment, she made her choice. Her expression softened, and a smile graced her lips. Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief, and he released her wrist. Noticing that everyone was staring, he quickly huffed and turned back to his food. "Hurry up and eat, or your food will get cold and soggy."

Her own smile grew just a little, as she went back over to her spot and picked up her bowl. She walked over to the half-demon, and plopped down, eating beside him.

He pause in his eating to glance at her. She flashed him a happy smile. He stuttered, then began devouring his meal once again, only this time, his cheeks were stained red. She ate her own quietly, the pleased smile never leaving her face as she ate—Even as the cold returned, reminding her, he kept her warm.

When by his side, she easily ignored the cold touches, and kept her mind away from anything else except the white haired half-demon sitting beside her.

.-

She has never been this late in responding to him before. He wasn't worried, just a little impatient and irritated. No one has ever kept him waiting before. When she didn't respond to his second call, he waited twice as long before trying a third time.

He sent out his aura in a burst, then called it back into himself. He did this several times, each time the distance between the pulses would become shorter and shorter, showing his impatience.

Yet when the miko did not appear, he was forced to turn on his heels and walk away. Not hearing familiar footfalls behind him, he stopped and called over his shoulder. "Come, Rin."

The girl looked up at him, puzzled. "What about Kagome?"

"The miko will not be coming today."

"Why?" Like usual, she was a never-ending fountain of questions.

The demon lord stared at the girl for a moment, as if thinking over the right response. "She is preoccupied." It was the only answer he gave her, before he began walking towards the tree line once again.

This time, the soft patter of feet followed behind him, and she strangely enough, didn't question the demon lord any further…


	5. Blue Rose

Just as a note, I'm not a doctor, nurse, or even a medical student of any kind. I never even looked on Wiki (Because we know how reliable and truthful that is) I know next to nothing about medical stuff, and I made most of it up. If any of this works, or doesn't work, I have no idea other than guessing and making it look good for the story… So, yeah…

**Story**

A chilled breeze hit her flesh, causing the girl to shiver. She looked down at her legs, questioning if wearing her skirt now was the best choice. It was fall, and she should have thought ahead before coming to the past. At least brought some change of warmer clothes or something, but she chose not to, so she could make room for ramen.

That and she wasn't really thinking straight when she was packing. Her already large smile grew even more just thinking about it—

"You haven't stopped grinning since you got back." Inuyasha huffed. "What's got you in such a good mood?" He asked.

"I got a C on my math test." Her cheeks were starting to hurt, she was smiling so much.

"Keh." He laughed through his nose. "All this over some test of yours? You got a C? So what?"

She placed her hands upon her hips. "In case you didn't know—which I know you don't—It's better than an F!" She told him. She then looked down at the ground in thought for a moment. "Well, it might not be something to boost at but…" Her happy mood was quickly becoming heavy with the realization. She probably shouldn't be happy about a 'C' after all, a 'C' is just 'average' but—she hasn't gotten anything other than an F in math all year. "I decided to get a tutor. I'm glad I did." She confessed. "I was so excited after all my hard work studying and that it actually paid off…"

She felt a gentle touch upon her shoulder. "I'm happy for you Kagome." Sango praised her. "Even if I don't know what those tests of yours are for in your time."

Kagome's smile quickly returned at her friend's kind gesture. "Thanks Sango."

"We know it's important to you." Miroku spoke up. "Right Inuyasha?" The male gave the other a message with a glare sent his way.

The dog just shrugged. "Yeah. Good for you Kagome."

Her expression dropped again, frowning. Why does he always have to be that way?

.-

Kagome looked up at the sky, seeing the sun falling down the multicolored treetops. "Don't you think it's time to set up camp, Inuyasha?"

The dog looked at her from behind his shoulder. "No." He told her. She could feel another start of an argument, when he spoke again. "There is a human village ahead. We will rest there."

Hearing about the town instantly brightened everyone's mood, and they all picked up their pace, wishing to get beneath a roof and into a warm room. After a few more minutes of walking, they stopped in their tracks when the tree line cut off unexpectedly. Kagome's breath was taken from her at the sight—

"Roses?" She was shocked at the field of flowers that was before them.

Not only were they out of season, but the roses were odd in color. "Blue?" Sango reached out and touched one of them, curious. "I have never seen blue roses before."

Kagome looked at the flower in confusion. "Neither have I." She didn't know they existed. Like Sango, Kagome walked up to the flower and cupped the blooming plant in her hand, feeling the soft petals beneath her touch. "Strange." She hummed. "They don't have thorns." All roses have thrones. It is how the plant protects itself.

"Quite odd." Miroku also became curious, but he looked at the plant with caution. "I do not sense anything from them." He told them. "They are just normal flowers."

"Keh." Inuyasha gave a snort. "If you are done goofing off, we don't have time to waste looking at flowers." The demon raised his sleeve up to his nose, to block out the strong scent of the plant, and then began walking through the field, to the village on the other side.

They all shrugged, but followed their leader without complaint, treading through the beautiful blue flowers. With her bare legs, Kagome was happy that the plants didn't have any thorns—"Ow!" She gave a shout when something stung, hitting her legs.

"You alright Kagome?" Shippo asked from his position on top of her shoulder.

"Fine." She huffed. "I think something just bit me." She rubbed her leg when another pinch nicked her skin.

A hiss behind her make her realize she wasn't the only one being targeted. Sango was rubbing her neck, and Miroku was looking at the ground, at his sandaled feet. An amused snort came from ahead of the group, and Inuyasha couldn't help but boast. "What? You guys can't take a little bug bite— Damn!" He slapped his own wrist with a growl, forcing him to remove his sleeve from his nose.

The humans behind him laughed, but then Inuyasha got quiet, his body becoming stiff. "Inuyasha?" Kagome walked up to him. "What's wrong?"

Inuyasha glanced at them, a serious look on his face. "I don't think we should go into this village."

The group sent him a questionable look, but Miroku was the one who spoke up. "Why?"

He sent them a look of concern, and he opened his mouth to explain. His face contorted then he shook his head. "Might be best to show you…" Then he began walking again, and the others followed hesitantly.

.-

When they arrived, Kagome had to place her hand over her nose and mouth, both to block out the stench of death, and to cover up the sobs that fell from her lips in grief. The group looked on in horror at the scene as they walked through the small village.

Everyone in the village looked exhausted and sick. Those that were in decent shape, was carrying dead bodies upon carts to be wheeled away—All on the cart were children or the elderly. Welts were upon their body, signaling some sort of disease was among the towns' people. Those that were still among the living, looked like they didn't have much longer either.

There was a woman sitting in the street, the sickness covered her arms, and her wails of grief could be heard throughout the whole village. In her tight grasp was a boy, no older than ten. His body was lifeless and pale, covered in mud and welts. The cart of the dead was beside her, the man pulling it tried to get the woman to release the child to him, but the woman just kept crying.

Before she could think, Kagome was running up to the woman, and kneeling beside her.

"Kagome! Stay away from her!" Inuyasha called to her in warning, but she ignored him.

"What happened to him?" Kagome questioned the woman, tears in her eyes. Yet the woman didn't answer her. She just shook her head and held the boy closer, not willing to let the cart take her son away.

"A disease came upon us." The cart driver spoke up, looking at the group.

"Do you know where it came from?" Miroku asked.

The man shook his head. "It hit so quickly." He told them. "It effected the children first, then the adults who touched them." He confessed. "Not all are affected by it, but It hits fast and hard, making one deadly sick for a two days. After that, the adults would get better, but the children and elders who couldn't stand the strain…" His voice faded as he glanced at the cart behind him, filled with dead bodies.

Kagome's chest clinched at the information. "What about your miko? Could she do nothing?" She looked up at the man, and a pained look appeared on his face.

"She tried what she could within her abilities, trying to save the children, but soon the sickness overtook her as well." He frowned. "She was wise, but with wisdom comes age—She was up in her years…" His words caused her eyes to widen.

"What about other healers from the neighboring villages?" Miroku suggested.

The man shook his head again. "They are busy with their own people. The illness is spreading."

Kagome absorbed all that was said, and her expressions turned darker. She continued to watch the woman morn her dead child, and looked at the miserable and pained people around her. She then set her sights upon her half-demon companion.

Inuyasha instantly understood what her silent message was: We must help these people.

.-

Kagome was kneeling beside a sick child, her hands reached out and hovering above his chest. She reached inside herself, calling forth the energy within her. She tried to remember the same feeling she got when she shot an arrow, or when it came out to her defense. She concentrated, breathing in and out.

She felt something spark within her, and she almost cried out in joy. Yet when she opened her eyes, nothing was happening. Her hands were not glowing, and she did not feel any power coming out to respond to her call. She lowered her arms, and tears began to weld in her eyes from frustration.

Why are her powers so useless when she really needed them? She felt helpless. Nothing seemed to be working. No known herbs, or even medicine from her time made any dent in the illness.

It started out as a small spot upon the flesh, then it became a rash. The rash would spread, and the body would become weak. It would become hard to breathe, and the body would go into a type of suspended animation, where the heart would slow down to the point of almost stopping- with children and the elderly who couldn't take the strain, it does.

She had no clue what it was, or how to cure it—or even what the nature of the sickness is and how it's spread from person to person. Kagome felt drained and useless to this virus. She didn't know what to do. It had been two days since they have arrived in the village, yet no real change has been made. Kagome was starting to feel disheartened by her failed efforts, even more with each child placed beneath the ground.

Kagome glanced over, seeing the gang hard at work.

Miroku and Sango were digging graves beyond the city. Inuyasha was carrying the numerous dead bodies from the loaded cart to the freshly made graves. When the cart was emptied, the half-demon began his route through the village to pick up more. Even Shippo helped out by carrying water and food from house to house to give to the sick.

The sickness didn't effect demons, which is why Inuyasha took it upon himself to carry the hardest burden, and by doing so had to touch the infected bodies. Miroku, Sango, and her were human, but after two days and no sign of the illness, they believed to be immune to the disease, becoming bolder with their effort to help.

That is until…

"If only I had more supplies from my world, I could run some tests. Maybe draw blood or—" Kagome paused when she heard a cough, then a heavy thud—She turned to look and her eyes widened when she spotted her friend lying upon the ground, unmoving. "Sango!" She was on her feet in an instant, and like the others, were rushing to her side.

Miroku reached her first, turning the woman over and holding her up. Concern and dread within his violet orbs. He glanced up at the others, a pained expression marring his face. Kagome bent down in front of him, and quickly glanced over her unconscious form.

Kagome gasped and she placed her hand over her mouth in surprise—

She saw it- What caused such a haunting expression to appear on the monk's face. There was a rash on Sango's neck and chest.

She was infected…

.-

Kagome heaved the yellow pack over the well, giving a grunt when she did so. She soon followed the bag, emerging from the wooden structure. She wasted no time in picking the bag up and placing it on her back. "Kirara!" She called out, searching the field. "Kirara!" She repeated. She began to worry when she didn't see the cat that had brought her here. "Kira—" A blur of motion stopped her shouting, and she took a step back when something landed in front of her. "Inuyasha?"

He turned around and crouched. "Hurry up."

Dread filled her, knowing that him being here could not be good news. She nodded and quickly got on top of the half-demon. He then took off at full speed, zooming through the trees of the forest. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to wait for me? What is going on? Is Sango okay?" She bombarded the demon with questions.

"This is her second day with the sickness." He told her, but Kagome already knew that.

"I'm sorry it took so long." Guilt was swirling inside of her.

He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Did you find anything?"

Kagome shook her head and sighed. "I looked everywhere. I couldn't find any kind of sickness like this in any book." She confessed. "But I did get some supplies—Good ones." She told him. "I had to pull some strings, but I was able to get some things from a hospital, where someone I know works there and was able to get them out for me." She then said. "I might be able to find out something if I run some tests and use something that isn't just over the counter."

The demon nodded his head, accepting her answer. "I'm here, because we brought Sango back from the village." He decided to answer her questions.

"You what!" She instantly screamed at him. "I told you not to move her!"

"Watch it! My ears!" He growled. "I know what you said, but—"

"What if she infects the people in Kaede's village! What were you thinking!"

"Calm down!" He snarled. "We know what we are doing!" He told her. "We put her in the farthest hut from the village, and no one but me and Miroku has been inside, and everything she comes in contact with has been burnt." He huffed. "We have been careful."

Hearing his words, she settled down a little, but she was still highly upset that they disobeyed her. "Why did you move her?"

"That place was filthy, she needed somewhere clean and fresh. Miroku also thought that someplace familiar to her would help her recovery."

Kagome nodded, but she was still attacking her lower lip with her teeth in nervousness. "I can only hope that it didn't make things worse…"

.-

When Kagome rushed into the hut, she spotted Sango lying on a futon, and Miroku by her side. She noticed their joined hands, the monk giving the woman comfort, even as the girl slept. Miroku turned his head at the sound of the screen moving, and when he saw her enter, a small amount of relief came over his worried and concerned features.

"Did you find anything?" Miroku asked. Kagome shook her head, and his expression fell even more.

She walked towards them. "But I will do what I can." He nodded, then moved out of the way, releasing his hold on the unconscious woman. "Any change while I was gone?" When she sat down, she began to shift through her pack.

"I am not sure." He confessed. "She has stopped breathing so hard…"

Kagome glanced once more at the woman. "She has gone into the second stage." Suspended animation. "How long has she been like this?" She asked, looking up at the monk.

"Sunset yesterday. That's why we moved her here."

Kagome stopped in her ramblings and glanced back at Sango. She gave a sigh, then look up at Miroku, smiling. "She will be fine." His heartbreaking expression melted away, replaced with pure relief. She also heard a small nose from behind her, made by Inuyasha. "Adults don't die from the sickness, and she is stronger than even normal adults." She look down at her hand, in it was a needle. "I was wanting to get her blood, to test it, but she has been too far gone in the second stage. She will be awake and moving in another few hours, the illness out of her system." She heard a thud, and looked up, seeing Miroku sitting down onto the floor, his body looked like it's lost all his bones, his tense form sagging in exhaustion. "You two need rest. I will watch her until she wakes up."

Miroku nodded. "Thank you Kagome…" Yet his eyes were already closed, dosing off.

She shook her head. "How long has he been awake?" She glanced over her shoulder, but paused when she saw Inuyasha in the same position—fast asleep.

Her face softened at the scene. They must have stayed awake the whole time she was gone. It was sweet that they worried and cared for her so deeply. Kagome nodded her head, then went back to her pack, going to retrieve some ointment and soap from her pouch. When Sango wakes up, she will want to take a bath, and the cream should help with the rash and soothe the itch.

.-

Pouring water onto the flames caused a hiss of displeasure from the embers, before they fizzled out and died. With last night's campfire put out, Kagome shifted her pack upon her shoulder and looked at the group. "Are you sure you're able to travel Sango? You just woke up a week ago." She told her. "There is no need to push yourself."

"I feel fine now." Sango shook her head. "We can't stop now. We need to find the cure as fast as possible."

Kagome nodded, agreeing. "I need to take blood and run tests on some infected children. I have decided to take the samples to my time. I don't want to, for risk of bring it to my world, but it is worth it if we can find a cure." If it could save just a few more kids from dying, it was worth it.

"We trust your judgment Kagome." Miroku spoke up. "We know you will succeeded."

The miko could feel pride and hope swell in her chest. "Thank you. I will do my best." She just hoped that it was enough…

"Come on, I thought we was in a hurry." Inuyasha spoke up, once again rushing us to our destination.

Yet no one complained, for they knew the urgency of their task, and was willing to push through the quick pace to reach the village. Hoping they arrived in time to save at least one child…

.-

They walked swiftly, making good time. The whole while, Kagome was lost in her worry and nervousness. She hoped that she brought enough, hoped that she could make a dent, or find out what is going on and how to stop it from killing any more people. So deep in her own thought, Kagome ran into Inuyasha's back when he suddenly put on the brakes.

"What's the deal Inuyasha?" She gave a small huff and rubbed her nose.

"Stay behind me." He told her, his face contorting into a snarl as he reached down for his sword.

"Huh? What's wrong-" She sensed him just as he emerged from the bushes and onto the road. He was just as she last remembered him, proud and strong. He stood to his full height, looking down upon them from his nose as he turned to face them. "Sesshomaru..."

"What do you want?" Inuyasha questioned him.

"I am here for the miko." His golden spheres looked directly at her when he answered. She shivered, unsure if it was from his powerful aura suffocating her, or the intensity of his glare. She hid further behind Inuyasha, as if to shield herself from the cold gaze.

Inuyasha growled in rage. "Over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged."

"I told you before, and I'll say it again: You are not going to take her!" Inuyasha pulled out his fang, and charged his older brother.

Sesshomaru pulled out his own blade, and their swords clashed, metal hitting metal, sparks flying. "Even now, you attack without thinking." He scolded him. "You are as simpleminded and predictable as enraged bull, no foresight beyond what is in front of you."

"Fuck you!" Inuyasha broke the connection with a roar, then slashed several times towards his brother, which was easily dodged.

Sesshomaru raised his blade, and once again the two swords clashed, pushing against each other. The full demon overpowered his younger brother, and Inuyasha had to dig in his feet as he was sliding against the ground from the force of his brother's relentless charge. Inuyasha's fang was pressed against his chest, Sesshomaru's blade almost at his throat. Inuyasha was losing ground against his brother's superior strength, yet he never gave up.

The whole time, Kagome watched in a nervous fit as the brothers fought. As she watched, something caught Kagome's attention. "That—that's not Tokijin…"

"Your inability to notice all but what is front of you…" Sesshomaru was still talking, even though he's face was just a breath away from Inuyasha's. "And _**that**_, my _dear _little brother, is your weakness."

Kagome's eyes widened once she realized what that blade was. "Inuyasha, his blade-!"

Her words were cut off with a sickening sound, followed by the surprised grunt from the half-demon. Kagome and the rest of the gang gasped in horror, seeing a hand protruding from Inuyasha's back, even though the two brother's blades were still connected.

Sesshomaru seemed pleased at his brother's pain, pushing his left arm further into his gut. The action causing Inuyasha to lurch—His father's fang slipped from his grasp and dropping onto the ground with a helpless clang, and transformed back into its smaller state. Inuyasha's arms were limp by his sides, and his amber orbs were darkened over in unconsciousness. The sickening, suction sound that came out as he pulled his hand from his brother's stomach, made Kagome's own belly twist into knots.

Without the support from Sesshomaru's arm in his body, Inuyasha helplessly fell to the ground in his own blood, unmoving. Sesshomaru stood over his lifeless body, one hand held his blade, while his other was dripping in his brother's blood, covered up to his elbow in the crimson liquid. His pleased expression was now gone, replaced with cold indifference as he looked down at his brother from his nose in superiority.

"I-Inuyasha!" Tears spilled forth from Kagome's eyes as she ran forward. Sango and Miroku reached out to stop her, but they weren't quick enough, and she ignored their calls.

She could feel her heart breaking as she looked at his unconscious body before her. She reached to her pack, slipping it off her shoulder as she kneeled down—An arm snaked around her waist, pulling her off of the ground, and away from Inuyasha. She gave a surprise gasp as she was held against a strong form and reached down to try and pull herself free from the arm that was still around her. When her hands touched something warm, she looked down in horror at her bloodstained hands—Inuyasha's blood.

She looked up at her captor, anger flaring through her tears. "Sessho-!" Her breath was stolen from her when his arm tightened around her midsection. Just as she heard the cries of her companions calling her name, the world around her passed by her in a haze of inhuman speed.

The demon lord now had what he came for…

.-

Even as the demon ran through the trees and shrubbery in a blur, Kagome still kicked her feet and wiggled in his hold, pushing on his arm that still held her to him securely. She felt like a child, or more accurately, a football, being held in such an inconsiderate way.

"Take me back to Inuyasha right now!" She shouted out, barely able to hear anything beyond the rushing wind.

His hold around her tightened and she flinched in pain. "Cease your flailing."

She glared up at him. "Inuyasha—"

"He will not perish from such superficial injuries."

His words caused her to pause. "Your hand went through his stomach!"

"Has he not survived impalement before?"

"N—" She stopped herself, when she remembered that the demon was right. That wasn't the first time a hand with through the half-demon's stomach— "Which was your fault too." She huffed, still wiggling in his arm. She heard something amidst the rushing wind, and she instantly froze in her movements. She looked up at him, her eyes wide in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

Fear and dread pulled down into her stomach and she became speechless.

Rin was sick.

She could already guess what sickness the child had…

.-

Even when the world around her stopped moving, her head was still spinning. When her feet touched the ground, she wobbled, holding her arms out in front of her for balance as the ground beneath her stopped shaking—or maybe that was her legs.

"You!" Kagome turned, seeing an angry green toad waddle towards them, shaking his staff. "You are of no use here, woman!" Jaken huffed out. "Why did you bring this wench—" A boot connected to the imp's noggin, sending the creature to the ground in a cry of surprise. "M-milord?" The toad was more than a little shocked as he rubbed the knot on his head.

"Do not question me, Jaken." Sesshomaru looked down at him from his nose.

"Y-yes, L-lord Sesshomaru." The imp repeatedly bowed to him. "Forgive me for my rude—"

"Enough." Instantly the toad stopped his sniveling. "Go fetch herbs for Rin."

"H-herbs? But the herbs do not work—" Golden orbs narrowing sent the toad into a stuttering mess once more. "Y-yes Milord! R-right away!" In a green blur, the toad took off into the woods, leaving Sesshomaru, Kagome, the dragon, and Rin in the camp.

"Why did you send him away?" Kagome asked as she tested out her legs to try and get them working again.

At first she thought he wasn't going to answer her, but after a few silent moments he spoke. "He is useless in these situations."

Kagome believed that all moral support was welcome, but then—Jaken being, well, Jaken, wouldn't be very supportive, really. Sesshomaru was right, Jaken would most likely get in the way and hinder her with his nagging. She didn't need that, so Sesshomaru sending him away was the best thing for now. But she decided not to voice those thoughts, or thank the demon. She knew it would be pointless anyway.

Kagome, now able to feel her lower limbs, walked close to the fire where the child was lying. She took off her pack and placed it beside her as she knelt down. With just a glance, she immediately knew something was wrong.

"She is not breathing heavy." She looked towards the demon.

He shook his head. "She was having difficulty when I left to retrieve you." He answered. "Does this mean she is getting better?"

"No. The opposite." She admitted. She looked down at the girl, and pulled out a stethoscope from her pack. She placed the ends into her ears, and then put the round peace to Rin's chest. The miko closed her eyes and concentrated on the sound, barely audible through the device. A frown appeared on her face as she removed the stethoscope, putting it into her yellow pack. She hasn't been in stage two for long. There might still be a chance to save her. "Her heart and lungs are slowing down." She began to mumble her thoughts as she searched through her pack. "If nothing is done soon, they will stop completely."

She heard a growl from behind her. "If Rin dies, I will hold you responsible, _miko_."

She glared at the demon from behind her shoulder. "I will do everything in my power without you having to threaten me, _demon."_ She spat out. "I don't wish to see her die anymore then you do." She looked back down at the child and her expression fell once more. "There has to be some way to stop it or at least slow it down for a little while so I can figure out what to do." Kagome began to rummage through her pack once more. "They die when their heart and lungs go so slow, that they stop—Maybe if I speed them back up again, even temporarily, I might be able to postpone it." She dove deeper into her pack. "Adrenaline… I need adrenaline." Could be a bad thing for a child, but what other choice did she have? "Ha!" Kagome exclaimed when she pulled out the tin box she was looking for.

She opened it, and pulled out one of the needles. She put the box beside her, then opened Rin's kimono, just enough to see her chest—She paused when something blue sticking out of the fabric caught her attention. Reaching in, Kagome pulled out the object, and then her expression softened when she saw the beautiful crown made out of blue roses. She finally made one—She shook her head and placed the flowers away from her.

She popped the cap, revealing the sharp needle. She placed her hand onto the girl's chest, judging the correct area. She lifted the needle up, placing it almost to her head, then swiftly stabbed downwards— The air was knocked out of Kagome's lungs, expelling from her in a harsh grunt. Her back and head slammed into rough bark, causing her vision to become dizzy. She felt pressure upon her throat, and she released a cough of confusion.

She raised her blurry gaze up, seeing hardened gold staring back. "Sesshomaru?"

"For your insolence and trickery, I shall put you out of the misery that is your human existence."

"N-no!" She barely choked out when she felt his grip tighten. "I-it's not what you think!" She tried to tell him. "This is—T-this is…" She looked at the child still lying on the ground and she knew she didn't have long. "There is no time to explain!" Kagome told him. "All you need to know is that if I don't give this to her, she will die."

The demon lord seemed to regard her words carefully. After a few moments, she felt the claws upon her neck loosen, and she sighed in relief. Not wanting to waste any more time she crawled back to the child, doing her best to keep the sterile needle away from the ground. She got back into her previous position before she was tackled; her hand upon the child's chest, the other in the air. Without delay she brought the needle down, and injected her with the medicine.

Rin released a sharp gasp of air. Kagome expected her to get up, but the child laid still, eyes closed. Rin was breathing heavily. The sound made Kagome sigh in relief as she withdrew the needle from the child's chest. "That should buy us some time."

Kagome began rummaging through her pack again. As she searched for more supplies, she began asking the demon lord common questions, trying to figure out how the child caught the sickness.

Judging by how long it took Sango to become infected after staying at the village, Kagome deduced that it takes approximately two days for the sickness to take hold. "Has Rin come in contact with any other kids or humans within the past three days?" She continued to place several objects onto the ground, clearing the pack of most it's containments.

"No." Was his quick reply.

Kagome paused and looked over at the lord. "Are you sure?"

"You believe this Sesshomaru is lying?" His eyes narrowed.

"I'm not—" She took a deep breath and sighed. "The sickness spreads through contact. She might have left and ran into someone…"

"She has not left this one's sight for the last week." Kagome raised an eyebrow at his words, and then he added. "I am not ignorant about what goes on around me, miko, even when it involves human affairs. I have heard of the blight, and have been… cautious."

Hearing his words, Kagome smiled softly. She was happy he took such precautions. It means he isn't just a block of ice after all. He truly cares about Rin. But the reality of this information made Kagome uneasy. She looked down at the ground and nibbled on her lip.

"Did I misjudge by taking such measures?"

She shook her head. "No. It was the right thing to do. In fact, she shouldn't have gotten sick—Which makes things worse." Kagome told him. "It's spread through contact, but if she hasn't touched anyone who was sick…" A huff escaped her lips as she went back to the task of sorting through her pack. "It will make things harder, but we have to figure out what caused her to get sick."

Kagome pulled out another smaller bag; inside were empty syringes and needles. "What has she been eating the past three days?"

"Berries along the path. Fish. Small game."

"Did the fish or animals look sick?"

"No." He responded. "Nor did they smell foul when cooked."

With some trouble- not done it before- she attached a needle to a syringe. "What about drinking? Where she slept?" She turned back towards the child, and prepped her arm to draw blood. "Anything abnormal?"

"No." He answered sharply.

The vein pop up after she tied the child's arm. Kagome easily stuck the needle and began drawing her blood. "What about her routine? Has it changed at all—" Her question got cut off and her face became contorted as she watched the child's blood in the syringe. "What …?" She held the tube closer, to get a better look at it, to make sure she wasn't seeing things. When it was still the same, Kagome's body became cold, filled with confusion and dread.

Her blood was black.

She wasn't sure what that meant, other than it wasn't a good sign.

Out of character, Sesshomaru spoke the obvious. "Human's blood is red."

She resisted the smartass comment of 'Naw, really?' and instead said: "You've spilled enough to know." Not much better, but still…

"Watch that tongue of yours, girl."

She rolled her eyes, earning a chilling growl of warning from the dog demon. She huffed and sent him a glare. It paled in comparison to his—only because he practiced more than her—That, and the fact that she looked about as intimidating as a newborn kitten.

Knowing that she would never win a staring contest with the unblinking demon, she looked back down at the girl. She began to abuse her lips, as her mind became a whirl of thoughts.

She looked back and forth between the black blood and the child, trying to come up with a reason, only to end up blank. Feeling a throb behind her eyes, she sighed in aggravation and rubbed her temples.

Maybe she should just start over from the beginning?

What little she knew about the sickness was only guesses: You can contract it if you touch another infected. Even that turned out wrong. Rin got sick when she didn't make any sort of contact with anyone else. Another sigh came from her lips.

"Where did it come from?" She mumbled to herself. How did the first victims get infected? Maybe it was something else? The food or water? "But we ruled out food and water." Kagome eyes scanned the girl, and she noticed the rash was upon her chest. "Maybe it is contact after all? Something on the skin." She lowered herself more, so she could get a better look. "An allergy?" She mumbled as she touched the rash. "Makes sense if it effects breathing, and also why some get sick but others don't." She then looked at the needle. "But this blood?" A skin allergy doesn't affect the blood like that. It has to get into the body and bloodstream somehow. Everything is so odd. "But if it was an allergy after being in contact with something. What did she—" That is when Kagome remembered the flowers hidden under Rin's clothing. "The roses…"

She put the syringe down on the tin box, and opted to take the crown of flowers instead, inspecting it. "They were growing near the village." Kagome looked up from the still fresh roses, crystal blue making contact with molten gold. "Where did she get these?"

"They were not near a human village." Sesshomaru told her. "I did not permit her to frolic among them, but she insisted, so this one deemed it acceptable for her to gather a few so she could take with her."

Kagome's eyes narrowed in thought—"Ouch!" She hissed when something stung her palm. She pulled her hand away from them, and glanced down. An eyebrow rose in puzzlement when she noticed a black dot on her palm. She raised her hand closer to her face, only to pull away when it twitched. "A bug!" She all but screeched out. "I hate bugs…"

An idea came to her mind, and she bent down to get a closer look at Rin's rashes. It was difficult, for they blended in with the red bumps, but she spotted several red dots. Those could have been the insect bites. "Maybe they are carrying the disease?" It could be possible. The black plague was from fleas off of rats after all.

She looked back at her palm, at the bug, only to pause when she noticed that it was not moving. She raised it closer to her face again, and saw that it was on its back, it's legs curled up.

It was dead.

"Why?" She began to question what just happened, thinking that it couldn't survive long away from the flower. But then why bite anything that comes in contact with it? Is it for defense? She noticed the flowers didn't have thorns earlier. Was that how it defended itself? That was quite odd though. "Still doesn't explain why it effects some but not others."

Maybe it is still an allergy, but only effects the blood? What if whatever it has, can only kill certain blood types? Is that even possible? What would be the point? She shook her head. There is no time to ponder why. She has to save Rin.

The main thing she should find out is: Why did that bug die when it bit her hand? The answer might be the way to find a cure.

Kagome hummed, getting an idea. She went back into her pack, quickly finding a set of tweezers. She scanned the flower, having a difficult time at first, but she knowing what to look for she quickly spotted another black dot underneath the blue pedals, hiding.

Using the tweezers she plucked the insect off the flower. She put the flowers onto the ground, so she could pick up Rin's arm. She placed the bug onto the child's flesh, and watched. It didn't take long for the bug to bite, but unlike when it bit the miko, the bug was still crawling upon her skin, alive, even after a few minutes later.

After this was done, and having her answer, Kagome picked up the bug once more, and then tossed it into the fire, tweezers and all. "Well that proves that." She spoke out loud. "But I still don't know if I can figure out how to cure her with just that…"

Maybe the cure is in the flowers? If she ground the petals up into a powder she could make a remedy. That would work if it was a type of poison, but not if it was an allergy. Giving Rin the thing she was allergy to could put her into anaphylactic shock and cause her to stop breathing all together. She just couldn't risk it. But what else is there—

The demon lord, who has been quietly observing her the whole time, spoke up. "You were bitten, correct? Why are you not affected?"

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know. Some people just aren't." She knew it was a weak answer, but she didn't have much else to say. "It might have something to do with the fact that when it bit me, it died, but not when it bit Rin. I guess it doesn't like me or my blood or something…" She allowed her words to trail off as the gears in her brain began turning. "My blood!" She franticly began looking at the ground, and when she spotted Rin's blood, still in the syringe on the tin case beside her, she grabbed it. She took the tie from Rin's arm and used it to cut off the circulation in her own arm instead. Not believing it was the best idea, and breaking many of the rules in sterile medicine she knew of, she stabbed herself with the used needle and began taking her own blood into the syringe.

"If you are trying to end your life miko, I know of better ways to do so."

"I'm not—" She gave a huff and shook her head, then decided not to answer him. After filling it up halfway, half her blood, half Rin's, she pulled the needle out. She looked at the color, and saw it was dark brown. Kagome made a face, then shook the syringe. She held it up to the sky once more, and a smile came on her face when it turned red. "I have an idea." She exclaimed out loud, before tossing the needle into the fire. She then began searching through her pack. She pulled out several objects, placing them down onto the ground and prepping herself.

While doing so, she heard a screeching voice in the background. "I have the herbs you requested milord!" Jaken had returned. "What is she doing?" He now stood beside Sesshomaru, getting a good look at the things she had put on the ground.

"It is none of your concern, Jaken." Sesshomaru answered him. "The herbs you retrieved." He looked down at his servant. "Put them into the fire, and gather more." He ordered. "They are unacceptable."

The toad made a horrified face, and Kagome tried not to laugh. "B-b-but-!" The imp then sighed in defeat, and slowly dragged his feet to the fire to toss the herbs into the flames.

As he passed her on his way to leave the camp, something caught Kagome's attention, and she called out. "Wait, Jaken. I need your help."

The green demon paused. "Y-you do?" She nodded and he scuttled over to her. He didn't even hesitate. His eagerness to help Rin was rather sweet. She wasn't expecting it from him. "What do you need of me?"

With a smile, Kagome reached out and snatched his two-headed staff from his grasp, hearing a squeak of surprise and anger from the demon. "Thanks!" But she turned back around and continued her organizing, ignoring his rants of objection.

"Jaken." Sesshomaru's cold tone revealed his meaning, and Jaken became silent, not raising anymore fuss about the subject.

Just as he was about to go back into the woods, to get more herbs, Kagome spoke up. "I don't need the herbs, Jaken." She told him. "You can stay." She then added. "If you are quiet." She figured it was the least she could do since she was using his staff.

The toad looked over at his master for permission. The only thing he received was silence. Since he didn't object the demon guessed it was alright, and walked over to sit by the dragon mount.

With the items out of her pack and laid out before her, she grabbed a few of them, then the staff. She raised it into the air, then slammed it with all her might into the ground so that it was stationary. She heard a screech from behind her, and she sent a heated glare over her shoulder, instantly shutting up the toad from any more of his bickering.

"Seriously…" Kagome mumbled under her breath as she continued to prep. "Like you haven't done anything worse with it?" She knows for a fact she has seen the toad bash a few demons on the head with the staff. Her sticking it in the ground isn't that big of a deal. "Umm." She looked at the staff, two empty blood bags in her hands. "How does this work?" She tilted her head as she stared at the faces on the staff. "Excuse me? Could you hold one of these please?" She held up one of the bags to the older face, asking nicely.

"As if the staff would listen to you." She heard a snicker coming from the little imp and she huffed. "It only listens to me—"

The mouth opened up, and Kagome gave a mocking laugh. "HA!" She couldn't help herself as she breamed with pride at the toad's shocked face. She then placed the bag into it's mouth, and it closed, holding it for her. She then went to the woman face, and held up the bag, but unlike the older male, the female was more stubborn. Again, she heard the toad laughing at her. She snorted through her nose. "You know, you are very pretty." She told the staff. "I bet Jaken doesn't take care of you like he should. Does he?" She then bent down closer to the wooden weapon. "If you hold this for me, I will make sure he smooth's out your hair and re-stains it for you so that it looks nice and new again." After a moment, the woman's mouth opened up, and she smirked in satisfaction, feeling a heated glare on her back.

She put the bag into the female's mouth, and it held it for her. She looked at what she made and she nodded her head. It will have to do. She went to the rest of her things and prepped both Rin and her.

She has never done a blood transfusion before, but Rin's life depended on it. She will have to try.

.-

Kagome sighed from her position on the ground, unsure how long she's been lying there. She glanced at the bag that was filled with black blood, held by the female face. She then looked at the elder face, his bag holding red blood.

Her eyes looked at the four crisscrossed tubes going from Rin and her black bag, to Kagome's red bag, then ultimately down to their two arms, needles stuck on both ends. It took her a moment to figure it out, but Kagome guessed she fixed it right.

Rin's blood was going into one bag, then into Kagome's arm. Then Kagome's blood was going into her own bag, then out into Rin's other arm. The miko was using her own body as a sort of filter for Rin's own infected blood.

When she began, she heard an objection from the toad. She quickly snuffed out his doubt, going into detail with the procedure and what she was doing, but the toad gave her an odd look, unable to understand. Then she tried to explain in simpler terms so his tiny brain could figure it out: It will work, so he should just shut his pie-hole.

It did shut him up, but what she said wasn't the complete truth. She wasn't sure if it would work, really. The only thing that she knew was that she wasn't affected by the sickness, so—theoretically—it should work.

Maybe…

The teen looked at the black tube going into her right arm, then the red tube in her left. She stared up at the sky and a heavy sigh fell from her lips.

What was the worst that could happen? She glanced over at the demon lord who was sitting close by.

Oh yes, how could she forget? Sesshomaru would kill her…

.-

"Woman." The nagging shrill that was regrettably enough becoming familiar to her, called out. "Woman!" When she didn't answer the first time, Jaken spoke again.

She gave a huff, not wanting to really answer him, but decided to anyway. "What?" She slowly opened her eyes and stared at him.

"The bag." He pointed to his staff and Kagome glanced over.

Seeing the two bags were now red, Kagome's face turned into a big smile and she sat up with a grunt. "Alright!" Kagome cheered as she removed the tube and needle from Rin's left arm, but kept the one in her right. The miko took note that the child's breathing had become steady, but instead of it being a sign of dread, she took it as good news.

Kagome then proceeded to repeat the removal of her own tube from her right arm when she heard another voice speak up. "Miko."

She looked up from her arm, her eyes meeting gold. She quickly understood his question without him having to ask it. A smile appeared on her face as she spoke. "She will be fine." The tension, however small it was, relaxed in the demon's face. If it wasn't for the fact that she was staring at it during the shift, she wouldn't have even noticed. "I'm going to give her more of my blood though, just to make sure." Kagome kept the needle and tube in her left arm, matching the one that was still in Rin's right.

The last thing she did before she laid back down was throw the crown of flowers into her personal bio-waste bin, aka, the campfire. She no longer needed them, and she didn't want the child to get infected again.

Something in the corner of her eye caught her attention and Kagome looked over. She raised an eyebrow when she found herself staring into the now purple colored flames. Dark purple smoke rising from it.

"That's not normal." The words fell from her lips as she lay on the ground, staring at the pretty Barney-colored flames dance around.

"No." Sesshomaru's deep voice carried across the camp. "It is not."

.-

After an hour, Kagome was starting to feel sleepy. Believing that she had given enough of her blood, she sat up and removed the tube from Rin and her arm. She then reached out and took the bag from the elder staff's mouth.

She smiled at the old face. "Thank you." She then leaned over and kissed his large nose.

The staff's mouth opened so it could spread into a big grin and his eyes looked upwards and into the sky in embarrassment. His face matching a little too perfectly with any well-known perverted look she has ever seen. She should be an expert at spotting them, being with Miroku for so long.

She reached out and grabbed the wooden rod— Ha, rod-she tried not to snicker at the idea. Her face became flushed with embarrassment as she held it in her hand. She tried not to think of anymore perverted thoughts, but she knew her mind was already in the gutter. It always was whenever she got tired.

"Are you going to give it back, woman, or are you going to keep staring at it?" Jaken now stood beside her, waiting.

She gave a huff at him, sending him a glare. "You don't have to be so hateful." She reached the staff out to him. Just as he tried to grab it, she moved it out of his reach again—"Don't forget to fix her hair." She reminded the toad of her deal with the staff.

The imp gave a snort through his nose. "I don't see why I have to do it when you are the one who made the deal."

"Because you have to learn to take better care of your things." She argued. "Now are you going to do it, or am I going to have to keep it until you learn to treat your stuff with respect?"

"It is not your staff to keep, human." He was now getting irate. "If you don't give it back to me right now I'm going to—" A blur whizzed by, smacking the toad in the head. It wasn't until Jaken fell onto the ground that she noticed it was a rock that hit him, leaving a decent sized knot on the imp's head.

Kagome followed where the stone came from, and she found herself staring at a certain demon lord. Jaken quickly recovered from his surprise attack, and was openly gapping at his master. "My lord?"

Sesshomaru spoke from his position under the tree. "You will do as she says, Jaken." His tone left no room for argument.

The toad shifted in his spot. "Very well." Not that he would have argued with him anyway. Now that she knew he would hold up his end of the bargain, she handed the staff over to the imp. The green demon walked back to his spot beside the fire, grumbling the whole way.

"Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru." She didn't feel like arguing with the toad for too long. She was tired.

He looked away from her without much care and into the fire, giving his usual reply. "Hn."

Kagome then took everything she used, and tossed them into the fire as well just to be extra cautious. "Rin's clothes have to be deposed of too." She told them. "Does she have anything else to wear?"

Jaken was the one who answered. "In her satchel."

"Okay." She began to stand up. "If there is a river nearby, I have to wash her as well to get rid of any bugs—" When she was on her feet, she wobbled, her vision spinning. She held out both her arms to balance herself, before she was forced to take a few steps back and placed her hand onto one of the trees. "Whoa. Got up too fast." She mumbled beneath her breath as she tried to wait out the dizzy spell that overcame her.

When her brain no longer felt like it was swirling inside of her skull, she removed her hand from the trunk—She found herself staring at spiked armor when she raised her head, and she pulled back in surprise. She blinked, then looked up, questioning him.

"We shall go together." Kagome then noticed the unmoving child sitting in his arm, leaning against him and her head resting on his boa. He motioned over his shoulder, and she realized the two headed dragon was behind him, Jaken holding the reins. "You will take Ah-un."

She pointed down at the toad, giving the demon lord another odd look. "I'm going with Jaken?" Sure. Why not? He must realize how well we get along. In fact, she was sure one of us will end up throwing the other off the dragon before the ride was over. Perfect riding buddies indeed.

"No, Jaken rides with this one." Sesshomaru then added. "Ah-un does not think very highly of him." The toad snorted at the comment, trying to act like he did not care.

Kagome just smiled, liking the dragon even more so then before. "Does that mean you like me Ah-un?" She walked up to the dragon, and began petting one of its snouts. It closed its eyes and practically purred at her touch, leaning into her hand. She heard another noise from the imp. "You don't have to be jealous Jaken, just because he likes me better then you." She teased.

Jaken huffed. "As if I care." The toad turned away from her and began waddling back to his master.

"Yeah." She giggled and padded the dragon's snout. "He's jealous."

.-

Kagome had a little trouble at first, but she quickly got the hang of riding on top of the two-headed dragon. She just did the same thing she did with Kirara: Trusted they would take her where she needed to go, and just held on.

When they arrived at the river, Kagome made sure the two males had their backs turned when she undressed, washed, and then redressed the child again. The miko then asked about her old clothes, but with a wave of his staff, Jaken took care of it by torching it just a few inches from where she was standing.

She kicked the imp in the head for good measure, and then they were off once more into the sky. The unconscious imp, Sesshomaru, and Rin in his arms, all used the demon lord's cloud, while Kagome rode on Ah-un.

Now that everything was all settled, she can go back to Inuyasha.

.-

"What do you mean you are not taking me back?" She found herself standing before the demon lord after dismounting the dragon.

When they were still flying, she noticed that they were not headed towards Inuyasha, but instead back to camp. She shouted out 'why' at the demon, but her only reply was 'you are not going back to my brother.'

And that now puts us to the present, at camp, and Kagome more than a little upset by this turn of events.

Sesshomaru was currently kneeled down, placing Rin beside the warm fire. "You will stay here until Rin awakens."

"I told you Rin was fine as long as she doesn't come in contact with those flowers anymore." She motioned to the still sleeping child.

He stood, his height towering over her as he looked down at her from his nose. "Until she awakens." He commanded.

She tried not to mock him, but she desperately wanted to give her best scowl in that moment and repeat the words 'until she awakens' in the deepest voice she could muster. She knew the small laugh from it wouldn't be worth the loss of her life, but she still wanted to so badly…

But she chose instead to continue arguing with him. She puffed out her chest and stood on her tippy-toes to try and gain some height against the tall demon that stood before her. "I am going back! Inuyasha is hurt and needs me—Thanks to you!" She growled out and poked the demon's armored chest with her pointer finger— His clawed hand snatched her wrist, and she flinched at the sudden tightness applied to it.

Maybe this choice wasn't the best one either…

The demon lowered himself, some of his sliver strands falling from his shoulder and onto hers. "Do not forget your place, girl." He gave her wrist another squeeze and she hissed. "You have no power to demand anything from me." Then he said one more time, his voice deeper, filled with power and intimidation. "You stay until she awakens."

She tried not to cower away from him. "B-but that could take days—or weeks!" Yet her voice still shuttered and cracked, showing her fear. "I can't stay here that long!"

"That is of no consequence to me." Her renewed show of fear didn't trouble the demon, in fact he seemed to relish in it. "You will obey me. Unless you want me to give you a real reason to fear me?" Kagome knew that those words weren't a threat. No, it was insurance. He didn't get specific with the details, and Kagome wasn't sure if she wanted him to, but she got the point.

If she didn't do as he said, Sesshomaru would hurt her, or worse, someone she loved, as punishment. He already shoved his hand through Inuyasha's stomach—She really didn't want to find out what else he intended to do.

Sesshomaru took her silence as her reply of cooperation and he nodded in acceptance, releasing her wrist. She rubbed the sore appendage with a sigh.

Her tone lowered as she mumbled beneath her breath. "Until she awakens…" She reached up and rubbed her eyes, her headache still there, along with the dizziness.

Maybe she should go to bed now—Yeah, sleep sounds good…

.-

"W-!" Something was breaking through the haze of darkness. "Wo-!" The sound was annoying, and she gave a groan, trying to scare away whatever was making the nose. "Woman!" She gave a grunt when pain shot through her side.

Her eyes snapped open and she quickly sat up, her hand on her throbbing side. "What the-!" Her world began to spin, and she removed her hand from her side, to put onto her head. More than just a little irritated at her wake up call, along with the headache, she looked around for the culprit she could vent her rage on. She spotted the green toad snickering beside her, gloating. "Did you just kick me!?"

The only answer she got was the demon laughing harder with a sneer on his face. She huffed and reared her fist back, punching—A well placed boot on the toad's head set him to the ground with a knot on his green skull. "Now is not the time for foolery." Sesshomaru then turned and made eye contact with her. "If you are done playing around, Rin is waking up."

"Rin!" Kagome swiftly got to her feet—"Ah." She wobbled, her world still spinning, and she lost her balance. When she began falling, something solid and in the way stopped her. That 'something' was a strong and unmoving demon lord. She instantly froze in place the moment she touched him. Slowly, like the dead, she raised her eyes up, and stared at his chin. "Umm, sorry." She pulled away from the demon shaped wall, and fidgeted under his gaze when he looked down at her. "The blood loss has made me weak." She explained.

"Humans are always weak." He casually walked by her.

Kagome released a large sigh, her headache getting worse.

.-

Not long after Kagome sat down beside the girl, she started to make noises and shift. Before Kagome could even get out her tools to check on her, brown orbs revealed themselves to the world. "Ka-" Rin flinched at the sound of her own voice, surprised by it's harshness. Rin cleared her throat and tried again. "Kagome?"

The older female smiled down at her. "Hello Rin."

Then girl then looked around in confusion. "Lord Sesshomaru? Master Jaken?" She switched from the tall demon to the shorter servant. "What's going on?"

Kagome decided to be the one to tell the child. "You were sick Rin. Sesshomaru brought me over to treat you, that's all."

"Ah…" The girl tried to sit up and Kagome helped her. "I don't feel sick." She looked down at her hands. "I feel great." She then flashed the older woman a bright smile. "You are a great healer Kagome!"

Kagome released a soft laugh at the child's words. "Thank you Rin…I still have to do some tests to make sure you are alright." The miko then continued looking in her pack for her tools to check Rin's vital signs.

The first thing Kagome took out was the blue cuff. She pulled up Rin's sleeve and wrapped it around her arm. "This will squeeze your arm, and it might feel tight and uncomfortable for a few seconds, but it's not hurting you."

The child just nodded and watched Kagome pump up the blue wrap. "I know you would never hurt me, Kagome."

"Of course not." The older woman smiled as she placed the stethoscope to her ears and then put it to her arm. After a few second she slowly released the air. "Your blood pressure is normal." She told her with a nod, and removed the blue armband. "Now I'm going to listen to your lungs and heart." She held up her stethoscope again. "Can you open your kimono a little?"

Rin nodded and did what she asked, but when she did, Rin noticed something. "My flowers..." She looked up at the woman and tilted her head. "Did you see them?"

Kagome nodded. "I did. They were beautiful."

"I finally made a crown, and I was going to give them to you."

"I'm happy you thought of me, but I didn't know. I had to throw them away. They were dead." She half-lied. "I'm sorry. Can you make me another one?"

The child nodded excitedly. "Of course." Her smile grew. "I'll make an even prettier one!"

"I can't wait." The female then bent down and whispered to her. "But no more blue roses alright? I'm allergic."

"Al-learn-gic? What's that?" The child asked.

"It means if I get near it, I get sick." It was a lie, but Kagome thought that if she told the child this, she wouldn't want to go near the flowers anymore.

"Ah." Rin nodded. "Okay."

She smiled sweetly at the child, then continued her exam. Kagome held the end of the scope to the child's chest-

"Kagome?" she had to pull away when a rumble went through the device, almost hurting her ears as the child spoke.

"Yes?" She looked down at her.

"Am I alearngic too? Is that why I got sick?"

Kagome blinked in surprise at her words, taken off guard. Smart kid. "Yes, Rin, you are. I didn't want to tell you and upset you, but you are a big girl and I think you should know." She looked into her dark brown eyes, serious. "You can't play with those blue roses anymore, alright?"

The child nodded her head, and Kagome smiled.

The miko knew that Sesshomaru would never let Rin go anywhere near those roses again, but this small precaution couldn't hurt. "Now let me listen to your lungs, hmm?" She held up the device once more. "Breath in… good. Now hold it-… and out… good."

.-

She made sure Rin was fine before she suggested leaving. Rin of course was upset, but Kagome had to get back to Inuyasha. She made some rules on what Rin should eat and drink for the next few days, along with a few other things on her list; fresh clothes and warm sleeping accommodations. After, she asked the demon lord if she could go back to her friends, now that Rin would be fine after some recuperation.

It actually took a moment for the demon to consider his answer. The silence made her believe he would refuse, but then he said "Very well. I shall take you back to my brother." She smiled in relief and gathered her things. She started walking towards the two headed dragon, when his deep voice called out. "You will not be taking Ah-un."

"Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"He must look after Rin." His words had her looking at the child, Jaken standing beside her. Then Kagome realized that without the demon lord, no one with real skill was guarding her—Jaken had no real skills after all. If Sesshomaru left, and She took Ah-un, no one would be around to protect her.

"Then how am I going to get back?"

He looked down at her as if her comment wasn't worth a response, because the answer was obvious. "You will be riding with this Sesshomaru." Even so, he answered anyway.

"On your cloud-thingy?" Just as the words left her mouth, she blinked, and he vanished. "Huh—" She gave a small nose when a muscled arm snaked around her waist from behind and she was lifted off her feet. She was about to scream out, but then his deep voiced cut through her cry.

"You are not worthy of such luxury."

She gave a small huff in objection and crossed her arms, which looked rather ridiculous as she dangled under his arm. She kicked her legs, seeming childish, but she didn't care. She looked up at him, going to give him a piece of her mind, but then he took off in a blur of speed. The sudden high wind stole the air from her lungs.

The whole way back to her friends, she was once again carried under his arm like a football, putting all her weight upon her stomach and making the trip very uncomfortable at the ungodly speed the demon was moving in.

Not worthy? She is not worthy to ride on his puff cloud but Jaken is? So in Sesshomaru's mind she is lower in worth then Jaken…

That's just sad. The thought made her feel rather depressed, really.

.-

She was jerked at the sudden halt, going from super speed to zero in half a second flat, and she could feel her stomach flipping inside her body from the rough motion. The high and mighty demon ignored her groans of discomfort, and lifted his chin sever so slightly.

Kagome noticed the blood stain on the ground, and she put two and two together: This is where she was with Inuyasha last, when Sesshomaru took her. Just at the thought came to her mind, her stomach flipped right side up again when the world became a blur around her.

Sesshomaru was on the move again, still carrying her like she was a bag of garbage he was going to toss away.

.-

The second time the demon made a pit stop, her stomach sloshed around in her body, and all of her limbs and hair swayed forward before being repelled back. She wondered if anyone could get a case of whiplash just from running…

As her complaints rang in her head, she reached out and flipped her hair away from her face so she could see. She noticed a large cave was in front of them. Were they going to sleep there for the night—?

"I don't care! I have to find Kagome!" The loud roar from inside the cave make Kagome gasp at the familiar voice and she wiggled in Sesshomaru's grasp from excitement.

Inuyasha!

Instead of releasing her, he tightened his hold, making her wince as he squeezed the air out of her lungs. She understood the gesture, but she still huffed, not liking it, and crossed her arms in protest. Even though he brought her here, he still wasn't going to let her go just yet.

As another shout echoed from the mouth of the cave entrance, the demon lord strutted forward in his calm grace while still carrying the miko in his arms.

After they got further into the cave, she could hear other voices as well. "You can't move Inuyasha." That was Shippo.

"You are still injured." It was Sango that time.

"Think about it Inuyasha." Then Miroku. "You believe you can defeat your brother like this?"

At this point Sesshomaru and Kagome had arrived. She could see Inuyasha struggling from the ground, Sango, Miroku, and even Shippo was holding him down as he tried to fight them off so he could leave. Seeing him struggle made her sigh in relief. If he has that much energy, then he is not hurt as badly as she thought.

"He has Kagome!" He argued. "I'm going to hunt him down, rip off his arm again, and take her back!"

"In the state you are in?" Sesshomaru's mocking voice chilled the very air in the cave, making everyone tense up and turn towards them. "It would be amusing to see you try."

**"Sesshomaru!" **Some of them shouted out his name. **"Kagome!"** While others called out to her instead. All their voices combined, speaking at once, made it hard to distinguish who said what.

Of course, Inuyasha was the first to speak up. "Let her go right—"

Before Kagome could react, she felt the arm holding her up leave from around her body, and she fell to the ground with a 'oomph!'. The wind almost getting knocked out of her on impact with the cold ground.

"Ow!" She gave a hiss as she sat up, glaring at the demon lord beside her. She dusted herself off and stood up with a huff—The world around her spun from her quick movements and she braced herself as she wobbled on her feet. She noticed the others taking a step towards her, but she quickly held up her hand to stop them. "I'm fine." She told them. "It's just a little blood loss."

"Blood loss?" Inuyasha repeated. He then growled-"The bastard"—And released a few heavy grunts as he tried to stand up.

Kagome shook her head and took a step towards them to stop Inuyasha's brashness. "Lord Sesshomaru didn't do anything." She placed her hand upon her chest. "He was nothing but civil with me." She tried not to think of the many situations that came to her mind, where he wasn't at his best behavior with her—

Well, shes not dead. Thats as civil as Sesshomaru could get with a human she guessed.

She then turned towards the demon lord and bowed low to him, her hair falling off her shoulders and blocking most of her face. "Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru, for bring me back to my friends."

There was a tense silence in the room for several seconds. "Hn." He finally replied and she smiled to herself, standing up from her bow. No longer having a reason to be there, the demon lord turned on his heel and began walking away.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" She called to him, and he paused in his stride. "If you come across anymore of those flowers, would it be too much to ask for you to burn them?"

"You think this one would allow such poison to infest upon his land? I will deal with it accordingly. I do not need a simple girl to remind me of how to take care of what is mine."

His words caused her to shift uncomfortably, afraid she insulted him. "I didn't mean to make you angry." She bowed again. "I apologize." She raised up from her bow and then motioned to everyone behind her. "We will also spread word about the flowers, and tell everyone we meet to burn them. I'm sure the infestation will be gone soon, and with it the disease." With that said, she turned around and started walking to her friends, ending the conversation.

"Miko." She jumped at the sound of his voice, and turned sideways so she could look at him again. She noticed that he now had his head turned so that he could look at her over his shoulder, staring at her with one piercing golden iris. "Your debt has been fulfilled."

His words caused a weight to lift from her chest and she sighed, but then a small smile played on her features. "I would have helped her, even if I didn't owe a debt to you." She confessed.

He stood there, contemplating her words, but only for a few moments, then without another word he gracefully walked out of the cave. The last thing she saw was the ghostly strands of his sliver hair before he vanished into the darkness.

"What the hell was that about—" Inuyasha gave a grunt. "-Kagome?"

Kagome noticed the demon trying to stand and she went over to him quickly. "You shouldn't try to stand up on your own, you are still hurt." She scolded him, and kneeled down by his side. "But if you have enough energy to argue, that means you are alright at least. "She smiled. She then looked towards her friends. "I don't want to move him, but we should get him to Kaede's so he can rest. He should be able to last the ride there." The others nodded in agreement, then began preparing to leave.

"Keh." He snorted through his nose. "Something like this won't kill me." He boosted. A hand was gently placed on her cheek in a comforting manner, and she turned, finding herself staring into hot amber. "You should be more worried about yourself, idiot." He tried to sound harsh, but the softness of his tone gave him away.

She leaned into his touch, as warmth spread through her. His thumb unconsciously rubbed her flesh, causing it to heat up and her expression softened towards the half-demon. "I'm fine."

Inuyasha's face soon matched her own in color-

"Should we leave you two can alone in the cave for a little while?" Shippo teased. His words caused Kagome's blush to spread down to her neck in embarrassment.

Inuyasha's face turned even darker as his ears perked up in alert. "Shut up twerp!" His fangs poked out as he snarled towards the fox.

Yet Sango and Miroku found it funny, filling the cave with their laughter.

Within days word spread quickly about the cause of the disease, and the sky was filled with purple smoke, and the rare blue roses truly became extinct.


End file.
